Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Upgraded at Argus

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Argus to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Mizuho cut shares of Atmos Energy from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $165.00 to $164.00 in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a "peer perform" rating for the company. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded down $0.46 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $154.23. The stock had a trading volume of 371,571 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,027. The business has a fifty day moving average of $155.66 and a 200 day moving average of $148.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. The firm has a market cap of $24.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.98, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $113.46 and a 12 month high of $167.45.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.92 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 18.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.85 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.98, for a total transaction of $2,264,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 172,632 shares in the company, valued at $26,063,979.36. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.48% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.4% in the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 348,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,604,000 after acquiring an additional 38,459 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 6,029 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $840,000 after acquiring an additional 681 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $10,319,000. Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 369,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,465,000 after acquiring an additional 12,811 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $400,000 after acquiring an additional 267 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.