Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Given Neutral Rating at Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America reiterated a "neutral" rating for Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) with a price target raised to $185.00, indicating a potential upside of 3.24% from its current stock price.
• Atmos Energy reported earnings of $1.16 per share in its last quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17, with total revenue of $838.77 million compared to the expected $848.97 million.
• Institutional investors hold a significant stake in Atmos Energy, with 90.17% of the company's stock owned by them, reflecting strong institutional support.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "neutral" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Bank of America in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $185.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock, up from their prior price objective of $182.00. Bank of America's target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.24% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on ATO. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b+)" rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Sunday, August 17th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $159.00 price target (up from $146.00) on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Argus set a $172.00 price objective on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $168.89.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $179.20 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a current ratio of 1.37. Atmos Energy has a one year low of $136.05 and a one year high of $179.70. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $167.49 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.77 billion, a PE ratio of 24.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The utilities provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.17 by ($0.01). Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.00% and a net margin of 25.05%.The company had revenue of $838.77 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.97 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.08 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter valued at $273,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 28.8% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $334,000 after buying an additional 482 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 2.9% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 34,705 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,348,000 after buying an additional 981 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 4.0% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 29,861 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,616,000 after acquiring an additional 1,157 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 26.0% during the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.

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