Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Reaches New 12-Month High at $137.72

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $137.72 and last traded at $137.27, with a volume of 11176 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $136.97.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on ATO. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH initiated coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, September 9th. They set a “buy” rating and a $144.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $134.71.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a PE ratio of 20.54, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $127.63 and a 200-day moving average price of $120.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 48.28%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ATO. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,277,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 462.0% in the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 67,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,931,000 after purchasing an additional 55,894 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.4% in the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 28,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,372,000 after buying an additional 2,952 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 76.9% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after buying an additional 532 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.