Ashford Capital Management Inc. Buys 211,675 Shares of Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI)

Ashford Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI - Free Report) by 36.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 797,675 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 211,675 shares during the period. Atlas Energy Solutions accounts for 2.1% of Ashford Capital Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Ashford Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.72% of Atlas Energy Solutions worth $17,692,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its position in Atlas Energy Solutions by 135.0% in the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 68,880 shares of the company's stock worth $1,528,000 after buying an additional 39,570 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,470 shares of the company's stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 7,587 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Atlas Energy Solutions by 40.6% in the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 290,319 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,439,000 after purchasing an additional 83,843 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Atlas Energy Solutions by 58.4% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,330 shares of the company's stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 7,492 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 324,475 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,197,000 after purchasing an additional 13,223 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.59% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AESI. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Atlas Energy Solutions from $22.00 to $17.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Barclays reduced their price target on Atlas Energy Solutions from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Citigroup lowered their price target on Atlas Energy Solutions from $18.00 to $14.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research note on Wednesday. They set a "buy" rating and a $15.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark dropped their price target on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Atlas Energy Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $19.28.

Atlas Energy Solutions Price Performance

AESI stock traded down $0.12 on Friday, hitting $12.43. 1,798,559 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,363,477. The stock has a market cap of $1.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.73 and a beta of 1.34. Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $11.76 and a 1-year 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $14.57 and a 200-day moving average of $19.24.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 5th. The company reported $0.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $297.59 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $291.13 million. Atlas Energy Solutions had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 11.01%. Atlas Energy Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 54.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.26 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 8.05%. Atlas Energy Solutions's payout ratio is presently 322.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlas Energy Solutions

In related news, Chairman Ben M. Brigham purchased 9,635 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $13.38 per share, for a total transaction of $128,916.30. Following the acquisition, the chairman now directly owns 572,397 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,658,671.86. The trade was a 1.71% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Gregory M. Shepard acquired 32,155 shares of Atlas Energy Solutions stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 27th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 approximately $145,679,038.40. The trade was a 0.42% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 48,790 shares of company stock valued at $834,038. 15.98% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Atlas Energy Solutions Company 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.