Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Upgraded to "Overweight" at Wells Fargo & Company

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $132.00 price objective on the utilities provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $130.00. Wells Fargo & Company's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 12.53% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group started coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $127.17.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded up $0.97 on Tuesday, hitting $117.30. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,217,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 853,964. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a current ratio of 1.36. The company has a market capitalization of $17.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.66. The stock's 50-day moving average is $116.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $114.76.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Atmos Energy's revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP raised its position in Atmos Energy by 984.6% during the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $47,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.