Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Upgraded at Wells Fargo & Company

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $190.00 price target on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Wednesday, June 24th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 4th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $192.00 to $184.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $195.00 to $187.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $185.36.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of ATO stock opened at $179.45 on Monday. Atmos Energy has a 1-year low of $152.80 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $174.53 and its 200 day moving average is $177.16. The company has a market cap of $29.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 1.00 and a quick ratio of 0.89.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. Atmos Energy had a return on equity of 9.59% and a net margin of 27.58%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.03 earnings per share. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Research analysts predict that Atmos Energy will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its position in Atmos Energy by 10.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 3,168 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 308 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in Atmos Energy by 8.3% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 17,312 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,676,000 after purchasing an additional 1,331 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 3,117 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $482,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP increased its stake in Atmos Energy by 43.9% during the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 13,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,073,000 after purchasing an additional 4,088 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

About Atmos Energy

Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE: ATO) is a U.S.-based natural-gas utility that primarily focuses on the regulated distribution of natural gas. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, the company operates through local distribution systems to deliver natural gas to residential, commercial, industrial and electric generation customers. Atmos’s core activities include pipeline operations, gas distribution, system maintenance and reliability programs designed to ensure safe and continuous service to its customers.

The company’s services encompass gas delivery, system integrity and maintenance, storage and transmission connections, and customer-facing programs such as billing, conservation initiatives and energy-efficiency offerings.