Atmos Energy (ATO) – Investment Analysts’ Recent Ratings Changes

Posted by Amy Steele on Oct 24th, 2024

A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Atmos Energy (NYSE: ATO):

10/18/2024 – Atmos Energy was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
10/16/2024 – Atmos Energy had its price target raised by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $145.00 to $156.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
10/10/2024 – Atmos Energy was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.
10/7/2024 – Atmos Energy had its price target raised by analysts at Barclays PLC from $129.00 to $144.00. They now have an “equal weight” rating on the stock.
10/2/2024 – Atmos Energy was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating.
10/2/2024 – Atmos Energy is now covered by analysts at Jefferies Financial Group Inc.. They set a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock.
10/2/2024 – Atmos Energy had its price target raised by analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH from $144.00 to $150.50. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
9/25/2024 – Atmos Energy had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $128.00 to $140.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
9/10/2024 – Atmos Energy was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating.
9/9/2024 – Atmos Energy is now covered by analysts at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $143.11 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $135.75 and its 200-day moving average is $124.78. Atmos Energy Co. has a 1-year low of $105.44 and a 1-year high of $144.32. 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 market cap of $21.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.25%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.28%.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $20,957,000 after purchasing an additional 6,641 shares during the last quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at $1,876,000. Swedbank AB boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 565.3% during the second quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after acquiring an additional 34,515 shares during the last quarter. M&G Plc acquired a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth about $32,941,000. Finally, FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth about $3,010,000. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.