Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Downgraded to “Sell” Rating by Wall Street Zen

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on ATO. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, December 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underperform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Barclays raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 27th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.33.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $171.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $28.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $168.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $168.70. Atmos Energy has a one year low of $140.85 and a one year high of $180.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.67% and a return on equity of 9.20%. The company had revenue of $1.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.21 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.23 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the transaction, the director owned 877 shares in the company, valued at $150,098.55. The trade was a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $490,000 after buying an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.3% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after buying an additional 1,331 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after acquiring an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.