Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Cut to Sell at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $180.00 target price on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 2nd. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday, December 29th. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $165.00 to $167.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $174.33.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 0.0%

ATO opened at $171.43 on Friday. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $140.85 and a 12 month high of $180.65. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $168.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $168.95. The company has a market cap of $28.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.75.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The utilities provider reported $2.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.41 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.20% and a net margin of 25.67%.During the same period last year, the company earned $2.23 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.150-8.350 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 9th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 51.95%.

Insider Transactions at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Sean Donohue sold 450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.15, for a total value of $77,017.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 877 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $150,098.55. This represents a 33.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.43% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Root Financial Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garner Asset Management Corp bought a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 85.9% in the fourth quarter. JFS Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.