Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) PT Raised to $130.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price target raised by research analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $121.00 to $130.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently 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 company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on ATO. Barclays lifted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $115.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, April 27th. 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 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $124.67.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded down $2.13 during trading on Friday, hitting $117.56. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 902,896 shares, compared to its average volume of 819,463. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.66. Atmos Energy has a 12 month low of $101.00 and a 12 month high of $125.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $116.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $114.48.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued 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. The business had revenue of $1.65 billion during 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 for the quarter was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atmos Energy will post 6.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atmos Energy

In related news, Director Kim R. Cocklin sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $1,746,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 186,339 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,701,039.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP lifted its position 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 valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 256 shares in the last quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 107.0% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised 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 worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

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.