Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) Stock Now Rated "Hold" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analysts have a consensus “Hold” rating on Atmos Energy: 10 of 13 analysts rate the stock Hold and three rate it Buy. The average 12-month price target is $183.36.
• Quarterly EPS was $1.17, beating the $1.14 estimate, while revenue of $837 million fell short of the $873.77 million consensus.
• Atmos Energy raised its quarterly dividend to $1.09 per share, up from $1.00, equivalent to $4.36 annually and a 2.5% yield.

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Hold" from the thirteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $183.36.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $173.00 to $167.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, November 7th. Argus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 21st.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Compound Planning Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the first quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 1,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC now owns 1,309 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Retirement Inc. now owns 2,822 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 8,153 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,506,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 6.3% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,119 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $193,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO stock opened at $176.38 on Friday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $165.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $174.44. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $154.72 and a 12-month high of $192.51. The firm has a market cap of $29.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.63%. The firm had revenue of $837.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $873.77 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.07 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 9.10 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 23rd will be issued a dividend of $1.09 per share. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a boost from Atmos Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 23rd. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 47.00%.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas utility and pipeline operator headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company distributes natural gas to residential, commercial and industrial customers and operates natural gas transmission and storage assets. Its regulated distribution business serves customers in eight states: Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Through its pipeline and storage operations, Atmos Energy moves and stores natural gas, primarily in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi.

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