Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Hits New 52-Week High at $125.40

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $125.40 and last traded at $124.92, with a volume of 30438 shares. The stock had previously closed at $124.54.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ATO. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $133.00 to $138.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $122.00 to $119.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research note on Friday, April 12th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price objective for the company. Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $121.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $128.67.

Atmos Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $117.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $116.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.01% and a net margin of 24.65%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Co. will post 6.78 EPS for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a $0.805 dividend. This represents a $3.22 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.56%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is 48.28%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Atmos Energy news, Director Diana J. Walters sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.00, for a total transaction of $47,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $201,000. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,462 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Atmos Energy by 319.2% during the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 37,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,313,000 after purchasing an additional 28,337 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 8,170.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 237,529 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,530,000 after purchasing an additional 234,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tectonic Advisors LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 2,763 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $320,000 after purchasing an additional 171 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is owned by 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.