Morgan Stanley Cuts Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Price Target to $190.00

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its target price reduced by Morgan Stanley from $196.00 to $190.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an equal weight rating on the utilities provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ATO. TD Cowen raised their target price on Atmos Energy from $193.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Argus cut their price objective on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 2nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $187.73.

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

NYSE:ATO opened at $167.16 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.57 and its 200-day moving average is $178.34. Atmos Energy has a 1-year low of $160.10 and a 1-year high of $192.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $28.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.60.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $879.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $900.82 million. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 28.50% and a return on equity of 9.67%. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.16 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 8.46 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 8th. Investors of record on Monday, August 24th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 24th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 47.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atmos Energy news, Director William James Ware purchased 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $167.59 per share, for a total transaction of $50,277.00. Following the acquisition, the director owned 488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $81,783.92. The trade was a 159.57% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.43% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Atmos Energy

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,032,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,525,687,000 after purchasing an additional 276,485 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Atmos Energy during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,624,975,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 8.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 11,893,826 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,993,968,000 after buying an additional 927,986 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,786,358 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,808,117,000 after buying an additional 155,836 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,214,985 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $703,824,000 after acquiring an additional 78,438 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Company Profile

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.