Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Stock Keeps “Buy” Rating at Argus

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by analysts at Argus in a research note issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $185.00 price objective on the utilities provider’s stock. Argus’ price target suggests a potential upside of 15.13% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, July 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $188.00 to $179.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $179.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $183.58.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of ATO traded up $1.47 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $160.68. The company had a trading volume of 2,138,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,116,641. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $165.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $173.87. The stock has a market cap of $27.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.13, a PEG ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.57. Atmos Energy has a 52 week low of $154.72 and a 52 week high of $192.51. The company has a quick ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 8.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In other news, Director William Ware bought 300 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, with a total value of $50,277.00. Following the purchase, the director directly owned 488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $81,783.92. This trade represents a 159.57% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.43% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,624,975,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 474.7% during the 3rd quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 5,971 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $720,212,000. Opal Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,154,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the 1st quarter worth approximately $2,558,000. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation is a regulated natural gas distribution and pipeline company headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The company delivers natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and institutional customers and is one of the largest natural gas distributors in the United States.

Atmos Energy operates through two primary businesses: natural gas distribution and pipeline and storage operations. Its distribution activities include acquiring, transporting, storing and delivering natural gas, while its pipeline operations provide transportation and storage services and support the company’s distribution network.

The company serves customers across eight states, including Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Colorado, Kansas, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia.