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

Posted by George Bondi on Jul 16th, 2026

Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Atmos Energy Corporation (NYSE:ATO – Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 507,404 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 21,175 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Atmos Energy were worth $93,728,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC lifted its stake in Atmos Energy by 31.9% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 8,122 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 1,965 shares during the last quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 3.0% during the first quarter. AMF Tjanstepension AB now owns 105,704 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,526,000 after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. Paradiem LLC raised its holdings in Atmos Energy by 1.7% during the first quarter. Paradiem LLC now owns 87,119 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,093,000 after purchasing an additional 1,455 shares in the last quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Atmos Energy during the 1st quarter worth approximately $354,000. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Atmos Energy by 13.3% during the 1st quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 7,063 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,305,000 after buying an additional 830 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.17% of the company’s stock.

Atmos Energy Trading Down 1.9%

NYSE ATO opened at $175.07 on Thursday. Atmos Energy Corporation has a one year low of $153.84 and a one year high of $192.51. The firm has a market cap of $29.22 billion, a PE ratio of 21.51, a P/E/G ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.60. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $174.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $177.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 1.00.

Atmos Energy (NYSE:ATO – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 posted $3.03 EPS. Atmos Energy has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.400-8.500 EPS. Analysts expect that Atmos Energy Corporation will post 8.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Atmos Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 26th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 26th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.3%. Atmos Energy’s payout ratio is presently 49.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ATO shares. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Atmos Energy from $184.00 to $183.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Atmos Energy in a research report on Monday. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Atmos Energy from $182.00 to $191.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen raised Atmos Energy from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Argus reduced their target price on Atmos Energy from $190.00 to $185.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.33.

Get Our Latest Stock Report on Atmos Energy

About Atmos Energy

(Free Report)

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.