Atmos Energy (ATO) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

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. This segment distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million residential, commercial, public authority, and industrial customers; and owned 73,689 miles of underground distribution and transmission mains. The Pipeline and Storage segment engages in the pipeline and storage operations. This segment transports natural gas for third parties and manages five underground storage facilities in Texas; provides ancillary services customary to the pipeline industry, including parking arrangements, lending, and inventory sales; and owned 5,645 miles of gas transmission lines. Atmos Energy Corporation was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in Dallas, Texas.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $137.61 to $140.45
• 50-Day Range: $136.41 to $151.43
• 52-Week Range: $110.46 to $152.65
• Volume: 2.11 million shs
• Average Volume: 879,091 shs
• Market Capitalization: $21.71 billion
• P/E Ratio: 20.33
• Dividend Yield: 2.49%
• Price Target: $148.75
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy

Atmos Energy Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Atmos Energy scored higher than 91% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 16th out of 91 stocks in the utilities sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 2.4 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Moderate Buy

Consensus Rating

Atmos Energy has received a consensus rating of Moderate Buy. The company's average rating score is 2.70, and is based on 7 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Atmos Energy has been the subject of 8 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 7.70%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Atmos Energy are expected to grow by 7.70% in the coming year, from $7.14 to $7.69 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Atmos Energy is 20.33, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 128.72.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Atmos Energy is 20.33, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the Utilities sector average P/E ratio of about 94.95.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Atmos Energy has a PEG Ratio of 2.80. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Atmos Energy has a P/B Ratio of 1.78. P/B Ratios below 3 indicates that a company is reasonably valued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 2.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Bearish

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.22% of the outstanding shares of Atmos Energy have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Atmos Energy has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 6.1.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Atmos Energy has recently increased by 5.26%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 4.2 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Strong

Dividend Yield

Atmos Energy pays a meaningful dividend of 2.48%, higher than the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Atmos Energy has been increasing its dividend for 41 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Atmos Energy is 50.66%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Atmos Energy will have a dividend payout ratio of 45.25% next year. This indicates that Atmos Energy will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 1.0 / 5
• Environmental Score: -9.39

Percentage of Shares Shorted

3.22% of the outstanding shares of Atmos Energy have been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Atmos Energy has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 6.1.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Atmos Energy has recently increased by 5.26%, indicating that investor sentiment is decreasing significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• News Sentiment: 1.21

News Sentiment

Atmos Energy has a news sentiment score of 1.21. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a higher news sentiment than the 0.68 average news sentiment score of Utilities companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 13 news articles for Atmos Energy this week, compared to 9 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

12 people have searched for ATO on MarketBeat in the last 30 days. This is an increase of 140% compared to the previous 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

Only 2 people have added Atmos Energy to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days. This is a decrease of -71% compared to the previous 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 3.3 / 5
• Insider Trading: Acquiring Shares

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Atmos Energy insiders have bought more of their company's stock than they have sold. Specifically, they have bought $362,225.00 in company stock and sold $0.00 in company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.50% of the stock of Atmos Energy is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

90.17% of the stock of Atmos Energy is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

ATO Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have ATO shares performed this year?

Atmos Energy's stock was trading at $115.90 at the start of the year. Since then, ATO shares have increased by 20.5% and is now trading at $139.69.
View the best growth stocks for 2024 here.

How were Atmos Energy's earnings last quarter?

Atmos Energy Co. (NYSE:ATO) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August, 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.05 by $0.03. The utilities provider earned $701.55 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a trailing twelve-month return on equity of 8.83% and a net margin of 25.04%.
Read the conference call transcript.

Who are Atmos Energy's major shareholders?

Atmos Energy's top institutional shareholders include Wellington Management Group LLP (8.85%), State Street Corp (6.96%), Geode Capital Management LLC (2.38%) and Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA (1.00%). Insiders that own company stock include Kim R Cocklin, Christopher T Forsythe, Diana J Walters, Richard M Thomas and Edward Geiser.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Atmos Energy?

Shares of ATO stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.
Compare Top Brokerages Here.

What other stocks do shareholders of Atmos Energy own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Atmos Energy investors own include Chevron (CVX), Comcast (CMCSA), Bristol-Myers Squibb (BMY), McKesson (MCK), Charles Schwab (SCHW), Edwards Lifesciences (EW) and Yum! Brands (YUM).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 8/07/2024
• Ex-Dividend for 12/9 Dividend: 11/25/2024
• Dividend Payable: 12/09/2024
• Today: 12/21/2024
• Fiscal Year End: 9/30/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Utilities
• Industry: Natural gas distribution
• Sub-Industry: Gas Utilities
• Current Symbol: NYSE:ATO
• CUSIP: 04956010
• CIK: 731802
• Web: www.atmosenergy.com
• Phone: (972) 934-9227
• Fax: 972-855-3040
• Employees: 5,260
• Year Founded: 1906

Price Target and Rating

• Average Stock Price Target: $148.75
• High Stock Price Target: $165.00
• Low Stock Price Target: $124.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +6.5%
• Consensus Rating: Moderate Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 2.70
• Research Coverage: 10 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Most Recent Fiscal Year): $6.87
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 20.33
• Forward P/E Ratio: 19.56
• P/E Growth: 2.8
• Net Income: $1.04 billion
• Net Margins: 25.04%
• Pretax Margin: 29.67%
• Return on Equity: 8.83%
• Return on Assets: 4.27%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 0.65
• Current Ratio: 0.94
• Quick Ratio: 0.80

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $4.17 billion
• Price / Sales: 5.21
• Cash Flow: $10.96 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 12.74
• Book Value: $78.32 per share
• Price / Book: 1.78

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 155,400,000
• Free Float: 154,623,000
• Market Cap: $21.71 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.70