Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO Shares Bought by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 486,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 114,836 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $81,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ATO. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted 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 valued at $3,525,687,000 after purchasing an additional 276,485 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.4% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 10,965,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,872,162,000 after buying an additional 359,780 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,630,522 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,815,162,000 after purchasing an additional 356,942 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 2.3% during the third quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,737,053 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $638,102,000 after buying an additional 84,786 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Atmos Energy by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,099,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $529,216,000 after purchasing an additional 17,022 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Atmos Energy

Here are the key news stories impacting Atmos Energy this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat and meaningful y/y profit growth — Atmos reported EPS of $3.47 vs. the $3.37 consensus; operating income rose ~22% and net income was up nearly 20% year-over-year, driven by strong distribution and pipeline demand. Atmos Energy Q2 Earnings Surpass Estimates, Revenues Increase Y/Y
• Positive Sentiment: Company raised FY‑2026 guidance — Atmos updated its full‑year EPS guidance to $8.40–$8.50, above the prior consensus (~$8.30), signaling confidence in ongoing demand and margin trends. Atmos Energy Reports Earnings and Raises Guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Raised profit outlook cited by major press — Reuters highlights Atmos’ raised annual profit forecast, attributing it to robust natural-gas demand across distribution and pipeline operations. This underpins the guidance raise. Atmos Energy raises annual profit forecast on strong natural gas demand
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend maintained and shareholder yield — Board declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend (annualized $4.00), the 170th consecutive quarterly payout; yield ~2.2%, supporting income-oriented investors. Atmos Energy Declares Regular Quarterly Dividend
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings call transcript available for management color — The call provides detail on demand trends, capital spending (noted ~$2.0B in the quarter) and regulatory/operational priorities; useful for assessing sustainability of margins and capex cadence. Q2 2026 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst/metric reviews provide context — Coverage (Zacks and others) drills into key metrics vs. estimates to help separate one‑time items from core distribution performance. Investors should review these to validate the beat. Atmos Q2 Earnings: Taking a Look at Key Metrics Versus Estimates
• Negative Sentiment: Shares fell intraday on profit‑taking despite fundamentals — coverage notes the stock traded lower on the day amid heavy volume, suggesting short‑term selling pressure (profit‑taking) offsetting the positive results. Short‑term technical/valuation concerns may be weighing on the move. Atmos Energy Corp. stock outperforms competitors despite losses on the day

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ATO has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Atmos Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Atmos Energy from $197.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Weiss Ratings upgraded Atmos Energy from a “buy (b+)” rating to a “buy (a-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Truist Financial started coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $195.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $181.11.

Atmos Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ATO opened at $181.69 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.65. The business has a 50-day moving average of $185.86 and a 200-day moving average of $176.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 1.02. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $149.98 and a 1-year high of $192.51.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $3.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.37 by $0.10. Atmos Energy had a net margin of 27.58% and a return on equity of 9.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atmos Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Atmos Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.95%.

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.