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

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

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

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO opened at $116.93 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $115.55 and a 200 day moving average price of $114.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.64 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.66. 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 52-week low of $101.00 and a 52-week high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The utilities provider reported $2.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.09 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.71 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.91 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid 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 presently 51.11%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ATO. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $137,757,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,032,032 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,162,713,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041,608 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.9% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,347,371 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,049,467,000 after purchasing an additional 538,578 shares in the last quarter. Perpetual Ltd lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 46.2% in the first quarter. Perpetual Ltd now owns 1,411,697 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $167,808,000 after purchasing an additional 446,292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. lifted its position 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. 90.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.