Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Lowered to Sell at StockNews.com

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ATO. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They set a "hold" rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH increased their price target on Atmos Energy from $144.00 to $150.50 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO traded down $0.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $143.26. 779,012 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,554. The company has a market cap of $21.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. The firm's fifty day moving average is $134.62 and its 200 day moving average is $124.02. Atmos Energy has a fifty-two week low of $105.44 and a fifty-two week high of $144.32. The company has a quick ratio of 1.57, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the business earned $0.94 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 6.79 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Atmos Energy by 0.7% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,472,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,314,641,000 after acquiring an additional 127,199 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 1,575,191 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $187,243,000 after purchasing an additional 83,661 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 1.3% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,550,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $180,834,000 after purchasing an additional 19,981 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 4.6% in the second quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,521,696 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $177,506,000 after purchasing an additional 66,345 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sfmg LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 0.9% in the second quarter. Sfmg LLC now owns 1,059,221 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $123,558,000 after buying an additional 9,253 shares during the period. 90.17% of the stock is currently 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.