Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) PT Lowered to $110.00 at Morgan Stanley

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $115.00 to $110.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential downside of 2.59% from the stock’s previous close.

ATO has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com downgraded Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $137.00 to $131.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 11th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $135.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $132.00 to $128.00 in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $116.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 24th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $122.14.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of Atmos Energy stock opened at $112.92 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.42, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.74 by $0.06. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 20.72% and a return on equity of 8.54%. The business had revenue of $587.64 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $959.12 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. Atmos Energy’s quarterly revenue was down 18.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.99, for a total transaction of $1,387,375.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 199,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,194,892.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.99, for a total value of $1,387,375.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 199,972 shares in the company, valued at $22,194,892.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Richard M. Thomas sold 1,750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.20, for a total value of $199,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $302,630. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATO. BlackRock Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 31.8% in the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 17,992,930 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,093,298,000 after buying an additional 4,343,701 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 16,962,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,026,815,000 after acquiring an additional 547,260 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.1% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,772,352 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,287,188,000 after purchasing an additional 527,261 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 8,789,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $987,630,000 after purchasing an additional 303,965 shares during the period. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 15.9% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 3,542,396 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,023,000 after purchasing an additional 485,903 shares in the last quarter. 90.98% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.