Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Buys New Position in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 33,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of AESI. Emerald Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 10,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Atlas Energy Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at about $844,000. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $323,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 5.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 518,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,305,000 after acquiring an additional 25,999 shares in the last quarter. 34.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlas Energy Solutions

In related news, major shareholder Stacy Hock sold 10,000 shares of Atlas Energy Solutions stock in a transaction on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.96, for a total transaction of $219,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 907,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,930,983.84. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Brian Anthony Leveille sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.46, for a total value of $305,750.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 362,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,854,764.60. The trade was a 3.34 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 63,571 shares of company stock valued at $1,473,876 in the last quarter. 24.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Atlas Energy Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of AESI stock opened at $18.04 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $22.33 and its 200 day moving average is $21.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84 and a beta of 1.03. Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $17.49 and a 12 month high of $26.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Atlas Energy Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 178.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on AESI. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Bank of America reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $22.50 target price on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Stephens lifted their price objective on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. 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 report on Thursday, November 14th. Six equities research 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, Atlas Energy Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $24.39.

Atlas Energy Solutions Profile

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.