Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Raised to $140.00 at Morgan Stanley

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price objective upped by Morgan Stanley from $128.00 to $140.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

ATO has been the topic of a number of other reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Monday, September 9th. They issued a buy rating and a $144.00 price objective on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $137.71.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ATO opened at $137.78 on Wednesday. Atmos Energy has a 12-month low of $101.00 and a 12-month high of $138.78. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $131.03 and a 200 day moving average price of $121.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 15.0% in the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 32,545 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 4,236 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 24.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 72,923 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,452,000 after buying an additional 14,294 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 40.7% during the fourth quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 24,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,862,000 after buying an additional 7,141 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 32.1% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 9,123 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,057,000 after buying an additional 2,217 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its position in Atmos Energy by 46.5% in the 4th quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 10,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 3,359 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

About Atmos Energy

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.