Principal Financial Group Inc. Grows Position in Atmos Energy Corporation $ATO

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group increased its Atmos Energy stake by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, holding 486,229 shares valued at about $81.5 million. Institutional ownership remains very high, with about 90.17% of the stock held by institutional investors.
• Atmos Energy beat fiscal Q2 earnings expectations, reporting EPS of $3.47 versus the $3.37 estimate, while revenue came in slightly ahead of forecasts. Profit and operating income also rose sharply year over year, supported by strong natural-gas distribution and pipeline demand.
• The company raised its FY2026 guidance to $8.40–$8.50 EPS and declared a $1.00 quarterly dividend, or $4.00 annualized, for a yield of about 2.2%. Analysts remain mostly cautious, with a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $181.11.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO - Free Report) by 30.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 486,229 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 114,836 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.30% of Atmos Energy worth $81,507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in Atmos Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $233,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 10.8% in 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 in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in Atmos Energy by 8.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 4,088 shares during the last quarter. 90.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Atmos Energy from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $197.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Atmos Energy from $163.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 13th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $167.00 to $184.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Atmos Energy from a "buy (b+)" rating to a "buy (a-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Atmos Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $181.11.

Key Headlines Impacting 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

Atmos Energy Stock Performance

ATO opened at $181.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.06 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 0.65. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $185.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.87. The company has a current ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 1.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. Atmos Energy Corporation has a 12-month low of $149.98 and a 12-month high of $192.51.

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

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 26th. Atmos Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.95%.

Atmos Energy 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.

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