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

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Barclays upped their target price on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $116.93 on Friday. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $125.28. The stock has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $115.55 and a 200-day moving average of $113.98. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. The business had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.91 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Yousif Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 89,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,682,000 after buying an additional 1,716 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $884,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 136,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,255,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,196,000 after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $224,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

About Atmos Energy

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.