Wolfe Research Initiates Coverage on Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO)

Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. The firm set a “peer perform” rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ATO has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given 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 a consensus price target of $149.15.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Atmos Energy stock opened at $152.40 on Monday. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $110.97 and a fifty-two week high of $154.55. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $147.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $143.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $24.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results 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 net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Noble Wealth Management PBC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.