Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the fourteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, two have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $173.2222.

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Zacks Research raised Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 18th. Cowen began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,098.55. This trade represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,872,162,000 after acquiring an additional 359,780 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,630,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,162,000 after purchasing an additional 356,942 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,073,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $625,180,000 after purchasing an additional 63,166 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.3% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,737,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $638,102,000 after purchasing an additional 84,786 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,099,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $529,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,022 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $170.37 on Friday. Atmos Energy has a 52-week low of $138.77 and a 52-week high of $180.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $170.69 and its 200 day moving average is $167.22. The company has a market cap of $27.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.75, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.77.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Friday, November 14th. The utilities provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $737.48 million for the quarter. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.49% and a return on equity of 9.07%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 8th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.87. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 53.40%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.