Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Upgraded to Buy at Argus

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was upgraded by stock analysts at Argus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued on Friday,Finviz reports. The brokerage presently has a $150.00 price target on the utilities provider’s stock. Argus’ price target suggests a potential upside of 8.72% from the company’s previous close.

ATO has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “buy” rating and a $156.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $148.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Barclays upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $148.75.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $137.97 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $143.39 and a 200 day moving average of $132.44. Atmos Energy has a 1 year low of $110.46 and a 1 year high of $152.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.94 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward Geiser bought 2,500 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, November 11th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $144.89 per share, with a total value of $362,225.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 2,602 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $377,003.78. This trade represents a 2,450.98 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Dunhill Financial LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 1,542.9% during the third quarter. Dunhill Financial LLC now owns 230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Atmos Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. PFS Partners LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy in the third quarter valued at about $69,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 17.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 917 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Finally, Lummis Asset Management LP increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 50.0% during the second quarter. Lummis Asset Management LP now owns 1,128 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares during the last quarter. 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.