Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Now Covered by Analysts at Jefferies Financial Group

by · The Markets Daily

Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Free Report) in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued a hold rating and a $155.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com raised Atmos Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $144.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $140.69.

Check Out Our Latest Analysis on ATO

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.4 %

Atmos Energy stock opened at $139.84 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $132.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $122.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market cap of $21.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $105.27 and a twelve month high of $140.04.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% during the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. Tompkins Financial Corp bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the first quarter worth about $89,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Atmos Energy by 75.6% during the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

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