8. Stock and Other Compensation Plans

12 Months Ended

Sep. 30, 2012

Disclosure Of Compensation Related Costs Share Based Payments Abstract

8. Stock and Other Compensation Plans

8.       Stock and Other Compensation Plans

Share Repurchase Agreement

On, July 1, 2010, we entered into an accelerated share repurchase agreement with Goldman Sachs & Co. under which we repurchased $100 million of our outstanding common stock in order to offset stock grants made under our various employee and director incentive compensation plans.We paid $100 million to Goldman Sachs & Co. on July 7, 2010 in a share forward transaction and received 2,958,580 shares of Atmos Energy common stock. On March 4, 2011, we received and retired an additional 375,468 common shares which concluded our share repurchase agreement. In total, we received and retired 3,334,048 common shares under the repurchase agreement. The final number of shares we ultimately repurchased in the transaction was based generally on the average of the effective share repurchase price of our common stock over the duration of the agreement, which was $29.99. As a result of this transaction, beginning in our fourth quarter of fiscal 2010, the number of outstanding shares used to calculate our earnings per share was reduced by the number of shares received and the $100 million purchase price was recorded as a reduction in shareholders' equity.

Share Repurchase Program

On September 28, 2011 our Board of Directors approved a program authorizing the repurchase of up to five million shares of common stock over a five-year period. The program is primarily intended to minimize the dilutive effect of equity grants under various benefit related incentive compensation plans of the Company. The program may be terminated or limited at any time. Shares may be repurchased in the open market or in privately negotiated transactions in amounts the Company deems appropriate. As of September 30, 2012, a total of 387,991 shares had been repurchased for an aggregate value of $12.5million.

Stock-Based Compensation Plans

Total stock-based compensation expense was $19.2 million, $11.6 million and $12.7 million for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010, primarily related to restricted stock costs.

  1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan

In August 1998, the Board of Directors approved and adopted the 1998 Long-Term Incentive Plan (LTIP), which became effective in October 1998 after approval by our shareholders. The LTIP is a comprehensive, long-term incentive compensation plan providing for discretionary awards of incentive stock options, non-qualified stock options, stock appreciation rights, bonus stock, time-lapse restricted stock, time-lapse restricted stock units, performance-based restricted stock units and stock units to certain employees and non-employee directors of the Company and our subsidiaries. The objectives of this plan include attracting and retaining the best personnel, providing for additional performance incentives and promoting our success by providing employees with the opportunity to acquire common stock.

As of September 30, 2012, we were authorized to grant awards for up to a maximum of 8.7 million shares of common stock under this plan subject to certain adjustment provisions.As ofSeptember 30, 2012, non-qualified stock options, bonus stock, time-lapse restricted stock, time-lapse restricted stock units, performance-based restricted stock units and stock units had been issued under this plan, and 1,949,088 shares were available for future issuance. The option price of the stock options issued under this plan is equal to the market price of our stock at the date of grant. These stock options expire 10 years from the date of the grant and vest annually over a service period ranging from one to three years. However, no stock options have been granted under this plan since fiscal 2003, except for a limited number of options that were converted from bonuses paid under our Annual Incentive Plan, the last of which occurred in fiscal 2006.

Restricted Stock Plans

As noted above, the LTIP provides for discretionary awards of restricted stock units to help attract, retain and reward employees of Atmos Energy and its subsidiaries. Certain of these awards vest based upon the passage of time and other awards vest based upon the passage of time and the achievement of specified performance targets. The fair value of the awards granted is based on the market price of our stock at the date of grant. The associated expense is recognized ratably over the vesting period.

Employees who are granted shares of time-lapse restricted stock units under our LTIP have a nonforfeitable right to dividend equivalents that are paid at the same rate at which they are paid on shares of stock without restrictions. Time-lapse restricted stock units contain only a service condition that the employee recipients render continuous services to the Company for a period of three years from the date of grant, except for accelerated vesting in the event of death, disability, change of control of the Company or termination without cause (with certain exceptions). There are no performance conditions required to be met for employees to be vested in time-lapse restricted stock units.

Employees who are granted shares of performance-based restricted stock units under ourLTIP have a forfeitable right to dividend equivalents that accrue at the same rate at which they are paid on shares of stock without restrictions. Dividend equivalents on the performance-based restricted stock units are paid in the form of shares upon the vesting of the award. Performance-based restricted stock units contain a service condition that the employee recipients render continuous services to the Company for a period of three years from the date of grant, except for accelerated vesting in the event of death, disability, change of control of the Company or termination without cause (with certain exceptions) and a performance condition based on a cumulative earnings per share target amount.

The following summarizes information regarding the restricted stock issued under the plan during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010:

		2012			2011			2010
		Number of Restricted Shares	Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Number of Restricted Shares	Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value		Number of Restricted Shares	Weighted Average Grant-Date Fair Value
Nonvested at beginning of year		1,264,142	$	29.56	1,293,960	$	27.28	1,295,841	$	27.23
	Granted	532,711		33.44	491,345		33.10	551,278		29.07
	Vested	(494,308)		26.32	(464,321)		27.21	(493,957)		29.24
	Forfeited	(39,963)		29.83	(56,842)		27.56	(59,202)		26.54
Nonvested at end of year		1,262,582	$	32.46	1,264,142	$	29.56	1,293,960	$	27.28

As of September 30, 2012, there was $10.1 million of total unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested time-lapse restricted shares and restricted stock units granted under the LTIP. That cost is expected to be recognized over a weighted-average period of 1.6years. The fair value of restricted stock vested during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010 was $13.0 million, $12.6 million and $14.4 million.

Stock Option Plan

A summary of stock option activity under the LTIP follows:

		2012			2011			2010
		Number of Options	Weighted Average Exercise Price		Number of Options	Weighted Average Exercise Price		Number of Options	Weighted Average Exercise Price
Outstanding at beginning of year		86,766	$	22.16	434,962	$	22.46	611,227	$	21.88
	Granted	-		-	-		-	-		-
	Exercised	(76,672)		21.79	(348,196)		22.54	(176,265)		20.44
	Forfeited	-		-	-		-	-		-
	Expired	-		-	-		-	-		-
Outstanding at end of year(1)		10,094	$	24.95	86,766	$	22.16	434,962	$	22.46
Exercisable at end of year(2)		10,094	$	24.95	86,766	$	22.16	434,962	$	22.46

• The weighted-average remaining contractual life for outstanding options was 1.7 years, 1.7 years, and 1.6 years for fiscal years 2012, 2011 and 2010. The aggregate intrinsic value of outstanding options was $0.03 million, $0.3 million and $1.6 million for fiscal years 2012, 2011 and 2010.
• The weighted-average remaining contractual life for exercisable options was 1.7years, 1.7 years and 1.6 years for fiscal years 2012, 2011 and 2010. The aggregate intrinsic value of exercisable options was $0.03 million, $0.3 million and $1.6 million for the fiscal years 2012, 2011 and 2010.

Information about outstanding and exercisable options under the LTIP, as of September 30, 2012, is reflected in the following tables:

			Options Outstanding and Exercisable
					Weighted
					Average
					Remaining		Weighted
					Contractual		Average
	Range of		Number of		Life		Exercise
	Exercise Prices		Options		(in years)		Price
	$21.23 to $22.99		2,164		0.4	$	21.23
	$23.00 to $25.95		7,930		2.1	$	25.95
	$21.23 to $25.95		10,094		1.7	$	24.95
		Fiscal Year Ended September 30
		2012		2011		2010
		(In thousands, except per share data)
Grant date weighted average fair value per share		$	-	$	-	$	-
Net cash proceeds from stock option exercises		$	1,671	$	7,848	$	3,604
Income tax benefit from stock option exercises		$	401	$	1,010	$	547
Total intrinsic value of options exercised		$	256	$	1,263	$	239

As of September 30, 2012, there was no unrecognized compensation cost related to nonvested stock options.

Other Plans

    Direct Stock Purchase Plan

We maintain a Direct Stock Purchase Plan, open to all investors, which allows participants to have all or part of their cash dividends paid quarterly in additional shares of our common stock. The minimum initial investment required to join the plan is $1,250. Direct Stock Purchase Plan participants may purchase additional shares of our common stock as often as weekly with voluntary cash payments of at least $25, up to an annual maximum of $100,000.

    Outside Directors Stock-For-Fee Plan

In November 1994, the Board of Directors adopted the Outside Directors Stock-for-Fee Plan, which was approved by our shareholders in February 1995. The plan permits non-employee directors to receive all or part of their annual retainer and meeting fees in stock rather than in cash.

    Equity Incentive and Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors

In November 1998, the Board of Directors adopted the Equity Incentive and Deferred Compensation Plan for Non-Employee Directors, which was approved by our shareholders in February 1999. This plan amended the Atmos Energy Corporation Deferred Compensation Plan for Outside Directors adopted by the Company in May 1990 and replaced the pension payable under our Retirement Plan for Non-Employee Directors. The plan provides non-employee directors of Atmos Energy with the opportunity to defer receipt, until retirement, of compensation for services rendered to the Company, invest deferred compensation into either a cash account or a stock account and to receive an annual grant of share units for each year of service on the Board.

    Other Discretionary Compensation Plans

We adopted the Variable Pay Plan in fiscal 1999 for our regulated segments' employees to give each employee an opportunity to share in our financial success based on the achievement of key performance measures considered critical to achieving business objectives for a given year and has minimum and maximum thresholds. The plan must meet the minimum threshold for the plan to be funded and distributed to employees. These performance measures may include earnings growth objectives, improved cash flow objectives or crucial customer satisfaction and safety results. We monitor progress towards the achievement of the performance measures throughout the year and record accruals based upon the expected payout using the best estimates available at the time the accrual is recorded. During the last several fiscal years, we have used earnings per share as our sole performance measure.

In addition, we adopted an incentive plan in October 2001 to give the employees in our nonregulated segment an opportunity to share in the success of the nonregulated operations. In fiscal 2010, we modified the award structure of the plan to reflect the different performance goals of the front and back office employees of our nonregulated operations. The front office award structure is based on a fixed percentage of the net income of our nonregulated operations that represents the available award pool for eligible employees. There is no minimum or maximum threshold for the available award pool. The back office award structure is based upon the net earnings of the nonregulated operations and has minimum and maximum thresholds. The plan must meet the minimum threshold in order for the plan to be funded and distributed to employees. We monitor the progress toward the achievement of the thresholds throughout the year and record accruals based upon the expected payout using the best estimates available at the time the accrual is recorded.