Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Rating Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning.

ATO has been the subject of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday. They set a hold rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $140.69.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ATO opened at $139.84 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $132.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $122.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy has a 1-year low of $105.27 and a 1-year high of $140.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.94 EPS. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after buying an additional 1,118 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 19,295 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,236,000 after acquiring an additional 4,782 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 262,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,433,000 after acquiring an additional 12,337 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $270,000. Finally, NEOS Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $245,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.