Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Downgraded to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Thursday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on ATO. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $124.40.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $118.84 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy has a 1-year low of $101.00 and a 1-year high of $125.28. The company’s fifty day moving average is $114.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $113.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.44.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 51.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,131,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 556,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,443,000 after buying an additional 36,977 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 77.8% in the 1st quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 91,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,882,000 after buying an additional 39,843 shares during the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 51.0% in the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 13,029 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after buying an additional 4,401 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $494,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.