Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target Increased to $156.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $145.00 to $156.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the utilities provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price indicates a potential upside of 8.38% from the company's current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Barclays raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of ATO stock traded up $1.94 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $143.94. 446,159 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 880,065. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $105.44 and a fifty-two week high of $144.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 1.57 and a current ratio of 1.73. The company has a market capitalization of $21.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.58, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $133.97 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.74.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.05 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. The business had revenue of $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.94 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $205,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 45,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,267,000 after acquiring an additional 1,518 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Atmos Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $349,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 482.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 11,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,378,000 after acquiring an additional 9,850 shares during the period. Finally, CWM LLC grew its holdings in Atmos Energy by 28.3% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $685,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.