Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

Investment analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ATO has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $117.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 20th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $107.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $124.71.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE ATO opened at $116.78 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $114.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.96. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $97.71 and a fifty-two week high of $121.92.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.48 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.47 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 18.18%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.37 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 390 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.50, for a total transaction of $45,825.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,620. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total transaction of $1,431,750.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 217,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,931,692.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Diana J. Walters sold 390 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.50, for a total value of $45,825.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 2,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $303,620. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 2,500.0% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 260 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. WFA of San Diego LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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Atmos Energy Corp. engages in the provision of natural gas services. It operates under the Distribution, and Pipeline and Storage business segments. The Distribution segment is involved in regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations. The Pipeline and Storage segment includes pipeline and storage operations of Atmos Pipeline-Texas division and natural gas transmission operations.