Gregory M. Shepard Purchases 32,155 Shares of Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) Stock

Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) major shareholder Gregory M. Shepard bought 32,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 27th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $19.04 per share, for a total transaction of $612,231.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,651,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $145,679,038.40. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Major shareholders that own more than 10% of a company’s shares are required to disclose their sales and purchases with the SEC.

Atlas Energy Solutions Trading Down 0.8 %

AESI stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $19.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,486,488 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,755. The company has a market capitalization of $2.14 billion, a PE ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 1.03. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $22.37 and a 200 day moving average of $21.66. Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.49 and a 12 month high of $26.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.23 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $271.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.94 million. Atlas Energy Solutions had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 11.01%. On average, equities analysts predict that Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Atlas Energy Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.58%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Atlas Energy Solutions

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in Atlas Energy Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 62.9% during the 4th quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 1,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its position in Atlas Energy Solutions by 307.9% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 1,387 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,047 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 191.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 34.59% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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