Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Research Coverage Started at UBS Group

UBS Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) in a research report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a neutral rating and a $124.00 target price on the utilities provider's stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Mizuho lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $131.00 to $133.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Thursday, March 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO traded down $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $113.99. The stock had a trading volume of 650,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 833,247. The stock has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $125.28. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $114.89 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $113.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 23.43%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.91 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy's payout ratio is 51.11%.

Insider Activity at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter valued at about $3,578,000. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Folger Nolan Fleming Douglas Capital Management Inc. now owns 24,285 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,887,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. &PARTNERS grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 16.1% in the 1st quarter. &PARTNERS now owns 5,573 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $662,000 after buying an additional 771 shares during the period. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 15,102 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,795,000 after buying an additional 3,135 shares during the period. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,049 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $362,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.