Insider Buying: Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) Major Shareholder Purchases 32,155 Shares of Stock

Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) major shareholder Gregory M. Shepard purchased 32,155 shares of Atlas Energy Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.04 per share, with a total value of $612,231.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,651,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $145,679,038.40. This trade represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Large shareholders that own at least 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Atlas Energy Solutions Stock Performance

Atlas Energy Solutions stock opened at $19.38 on Friday. Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.49 and a 1-year high of $26.86. The firm has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.37 and a 200-day moving average of $21.66.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.12). The business had revenue of $271.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.94 million. Atlas Energy Solutions had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 8.78%. Sell-side analysts expect that Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.16%. Atlas Energy Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is 126.58%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AESI. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 31.5% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,908,810 shares of the company’s stock worth $86,697,000 after purchasing an additional 935,410 shares during the last quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC bought a new position in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $17,770,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in Atlas Energy Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $17,314,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 12.6% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,915,325 shares of the company’s stock valued at $153,382,000 after purchasing an additional 773,035 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,390,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $75,197,000 after purchasing an additional 689,846 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 34.59% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AESI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Bank of America reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.50 target price on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Stephens upped their price objective on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup downgraded shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Atlas Energy Solutions has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $24.83.

About Atlas Energy Solutions

Atlas Energy Solutions Inc engages in the production, processing, and sale of mesh and sand that are used as a proppant during the well completion process in the Permian Basin of Texas and New Mexico. The company provides transportation and logistics, storage solutions, and contract labor services. It sells its products and services to oil and natural gas exploration and production companies, and oilfield services companies.