Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Given New $156.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price objective hoisted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $145.00 to $156.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.81% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on ATO. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $155.00 price target for the company. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $129.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $134.00 to $144.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.94.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

ATO traded up $1.37 on Wednesday, reaching $143.37. 66,190 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,165. The stock has a market cap of $21.63 billion, a PE ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.68. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $105.44 and a twelve month high of $143.37. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $133.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $123.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.73 and a quick ratio of 1.57.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted 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. The firm had revenue of $701.55 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $924.75 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.09% and a return on equity of 8.94%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Atmos Energy will post 6.79 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ATO. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in Atmos Energy by 200.0% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy in the second quarter valued at about $37,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 467.0% in the first quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 618 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 75.6% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $91,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy by 248.5% in the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $96,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.