Brokerages Set Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Target Price at $124.33

Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the six ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and three have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $124.33.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,162,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,608 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,049,467,000 after purchasing an additional 538,578 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 46.2% during the 1st quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after purchasing an additional 446,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 562,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $65,208,000 after purchasing an additional 415,054 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.1 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $119.45 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $116.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.32. The company has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.91 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.6 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated natural gas distribution, and pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage. The Distribution segment is involved in the regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.