Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at LADENBURG THALM/SH SH

LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) to a strong-buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on ATO. Mizuho increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Atmos Energy from $145.00 to $143.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Argus raised Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, December 20th. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 0.6 %

NYSE ATO opened at $150.53 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.67. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $145.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $142.31. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $110.97 and a 12 month high of $154.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 8.89% and a net margin of 25.90%. On average, analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.87 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 25th. This represents a $3.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.31%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 49.57%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,307 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $361,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 5.6% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 88,670 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $12,299,000 after purchasing an additional 4,718 shares during the period. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 36,605 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,077,000 after purchasing an additional 2,173 shares during the period. Finally, LMR Partners LLP bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter worth about $224,000. 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.