Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Raised to $150.50

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price objective upped by LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from $144.00 to $150.50 in a research report report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH currently has a buy rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday. They issued a hold rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $140.69.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 0.4 %

ATO opened at $139.84 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $132.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $122.62. Atmos Energy has a 1-year low of $105.27 and a 1-year high of $140.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (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 net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.94 EPS. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.7% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,472,036 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,314,641,000 after purchasing an additional 127,199 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,162,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,041,608 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.6% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $187,243,000 after acquiring an additional 83,661 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $180,834,000 after acquiring an additional 19,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $177,506,000 after buying an additional 66,345 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.