Wells Fargo & Company Increases Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target to $130.00

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price target raised by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $121.00 to $130.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.58% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on ATO. StockNews.com cut shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Finally, UBS Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Friday, April 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $124.00 price target on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $124.67.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ATO traded down $2.13 during trading on Friday, reaching $117.56. The stock had a trading volume of 902,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,463. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $116.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $114.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.25, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy has a 52 week low of $101.00 and a 52 week high of $125.28.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The utilities provider reported $2.85 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.62 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.54 billion. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 23.43% and a return on equity of 8.62%. Atmos Energy’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of Atmos Energy stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 984.6% in the 3rd quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% in the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 294 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the period. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 57.5% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 200.0% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $46,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.