Morgan Stanley Cuts Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target to $159.00

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $160.00 to $159.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price objective points to a potential upside of 1.36% from the stock's current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, March 31st. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $164.00 to $166.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Atmos Energy to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $156.35.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $156.87 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.35, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 1.56. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $110.97 and a 1 year high of $167.45. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $154.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $147.84.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $3.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.92 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $1.95 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.82 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 18.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.85 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 172,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $26,063,979.36. The trade was a 7.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.48% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 560,790 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $77,788,000 after acquiring an additional 73,007 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 37.8% in the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,370 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 925 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 35.2% in the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 4,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $579,000 after acquiring an additional 1,082 shares during the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 8.4% in the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $401,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 43,150 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,010,000 after buying an additional 340 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.