Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Stock Price Breaks Above 200-Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• Atmos Energy shares rose above their 200-day moving average, trading at $175.31 after reaching $175.57; the 200-day average was $174.31.
• Analysts maintain a consensus Hold rating, with three Buy and ten Hold recommendations and an average price target of $183.36.
• The company beat quarterly EPS estimates ($1.17 vs. $1.14) but reported revenue below expectations. It also raised its quarterly dividend from $1.00 to $1.09 per share, for an annualized yield of about 2.5%.

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Tuesday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $174.31 and traded as high as $175.57. Atmos Energy shares last traded at $175.31, with a volume of 867,748 shares.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Argus reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $185.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $179.00 to $174.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 15th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $183.36.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $29.63 billion, a PE ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.73. The company has a fifty day moving average of $165.15 and a 200-day moving average of $174.31.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.14 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.63% and a net margin of 28.50%. The firm had revenue of $837.00 million for 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. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 9.10 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 23rd. This represents a $4.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.5%. This is a positive change from Atmos Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 47.00%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.3% in the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 13,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,138,000 after acquiring an additional 562 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 275.4% during the 3rd quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 203,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,771,000 after purchasing an additional 148,982 shares during the last quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 425.2% during the 3rd quarter. Focus Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 32,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,154,000 after purchasing an additional 26,672 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 32.2% during the 3rd quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 2,058 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 501 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 206.0% during the 3rd quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 20,132 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,218,000 after purchasing an additional 13,553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company's stock.

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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