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

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

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on ATO. UBS Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a neutral rating and a $124.00 target price on the stock. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $124.33.

Atmos Energy Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ATO opened at $116.93 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $115.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $114.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $101.00 and a fifty-two week high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.09 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.91 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.11%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at $21,701,039.94. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Yousif Capital Management LLC raised its position in Atmos Energy by 1.9% during the first quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 89,864 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,682,000 after acquiring an additional 1,716 shares during the last quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $884,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.0% in the first quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 136,750 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,255,000 after buying an additional 1,349 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.9% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,196,000 after buying an additional 2,188 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the first quarter valued at approximately $224,000. 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.