Analysts Set Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) Price Target at $148.75

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $148.75.

Several brokerages have recently commented on ATO. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, December 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price target for the company.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares in the company, valued at $377,003.78. This represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.48% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 102,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,957,000 after purchasing an additional 9,733 shares during the period. Creative Planning lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 33,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,946,000 after buying an additional 886 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.4% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $219,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.4% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 28,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after buying an additional 2,952 shares during the period. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,277,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $142.49 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $141.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $138.19. The company has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. Atmos Energy has a one year low of $110.46 and a one year high of $152.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 25.04%. Analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.87 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.44%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.66%.

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.