Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Posted by Defense World Staff on May 18th, 2023

Shares of Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $124.71.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ATO shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $107.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 14th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, May 5th. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $137.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $117.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 20th.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $116.78 on Thursday. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $97.71 and a 12 month high of $121.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $114.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.18. The firm has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.62.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.47 by $0.01. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 18.18% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $1.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.73 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 6.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 5th. Investors of record on Monday, May 22nd will be issued a dividend of $0.74 per share. This represents a $2.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.53%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 19th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 50.86%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total transaction of $1,431,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 217,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,931,692.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 12,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.54, for a total transaction of $1,431,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 217,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,931,692.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Diana J. Walters sold 390 shares of Atmos Energy 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 sale, the director now directly owns 2,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,620. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sigma Planning Corp boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 2,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 13,999 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $515,000 after purchasing an additional 1,369 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at about $14,517,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,821,000 after buying an additional 548 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Patton Albertson Miller Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Institutional investors own 91.03% of the company’s stock.

About Atmos Energy

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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.

Analyst Recommendations for Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO)

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