Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Hits New 12-Month High at $128.06

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $128.06 and last traded at $128.01, with a volume of 124709 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $127.04.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ATO has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 13th. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $132.00 in a report on Tuesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 24th. Finally, UBS Group assumed coverage on Atmos Energy in a research report on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 1.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $117.62 and a 200 day simple moving average of $116.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.67.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 24.65% and a return on equity of 9.01%. The company had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th were given a dividend of $0.805 per share. This represents a $3.22 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.51%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total value of $47,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,551 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $419,018. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in Atmos Energy by 57.5% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $47,000. Hedge funds and other 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.