Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Raised to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was upgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Friday.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on ATO. UBS Group boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $159.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “underperform” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $174.11.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $164.55 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $169.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $167.85. The stock has a market cap of $26.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.77. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $138.77 and a 12-month high of $180.65.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total transaction of $77,017.50. Following the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Root Financial Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 85.9% in the 4th quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 270.2% in the 4th quarter. Princeton Global Asset Management LLC now owns 174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. raised its position in Atmos Energy by 105.4% during the 3rd quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.