Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Downgraded by StockNews.com to Sell

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ATO. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Atmos Energy from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and upped their price target for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. UBS Group began coverage on Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a neutral rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $126.16 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.45 and a 200-day moving average of $116.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 1.22. The company has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.67. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $101.00 and a 1 year high of $127.90.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.48 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.55%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 281.3% in the fourth quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 562,622 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,208,000 after purchasing an additional 415,054 shares in the last quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main now owns 1,489,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $172,595,000 after acquiring an additional 50,209 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its position 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 acquiring an additional 7,141 shares in the last quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co boosted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.9% in the first quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 176,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $20,957,000 after acquiring an additional 6,641 shares during the period. Finally, Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at $1,876,000. 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.