Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) Stock Price Expected to Rise, JPMorgan Chase & Co. Analyst Says

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) had its price target boosted by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $164.00 to $166.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the utilities provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 5.38% from the company’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ATO. Argus raised shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $150.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 20th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Atmos Energy in a research note on Monday, March 31st. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Atmos Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $142.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atmos Energy currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $154.39.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

NYSE:ATO traded up $1.25 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $157.52. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 187,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 904,533. Atmos Energy has a twelve month low of $110.97 and a twelve month high of $157.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $149.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $144.60. The company has a market capitalization of $25.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.69.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.20 by $0.03. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 25.90% and a return on equity of 8.89%. On average, analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy will post 7.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Atmos Energy

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 211.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 8,160,144 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,136,463,000 after buying an additional 5,543,451 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter worth $206,538,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its stake in Atmos Energy by 541.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,525,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,403,000 after purchasing an additional 1,287,325 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 146.2% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 1,713,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $238,628,000 after purchasing an additional 1,017,575 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Atmos Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $112,002,000. 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.