Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) receives a “Moderate Buy” consensus recommendation from the brokerage

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Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and five have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $137.71.

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on ATO shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH started 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. .

Check out our latest Atmos energy analysis

Institutional investors intervene on Atmos Energy

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A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at about $2,277,000. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 462.0% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 67,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $7,931,000 after purchasing an additional 55,894 shares during the last quarter. Truist Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 11.4% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 28,906 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,372,000 after buying an additional 2,952 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.4% in the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,880 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $219,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 76.9% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,224 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,000 after acquiring an additional 532 shares in the last quarter. 90.17% of shares are currently owned by institutional investors.

Atmos Energy Stock by 0.7%

NYSE:ATO opened at $137.78 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $20.79 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.68. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $131.03 and a 200-day moving average of $121.75. Atmos Energy has a 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $138.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.73, a quick ratio of 1.57, and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report ) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 8.94% and a net margin of 25.09%. During the same period last year, the company posted earnings of $0.94 per share. analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 9th. Investors of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.805 dividend. This represents a dividend of $3.22 on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.34%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.28%.

About Atmos Energy

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Atmos Energy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in regulated natural gas distribution, pipeline and storage businesses in the United States. It operates through two segments, distribution and pipelines and storage. The Distribution segment is involved in regulated natural gas distribution and related sales operations in eight states.