Legal & General Group Plc Acquires 104,045 Shares of Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI)

Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI - Free Report) by 257.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,400 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 104,045 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc owned 0.13% of Atlas Energy Solutions worth $3,203,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AESI. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 62.9% during the fourth 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. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 191.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,941 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,276 shares during the last quarter. Promus Capital LLC acquired a new position in Atlas Energy Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $55,000. FMR LLC raised its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 101.0% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the company's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in Atlas Energy Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $155,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.59% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlas Energy Solutions

In other news, major shareholder Gregory M. Shepard purchased 32,155 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 27th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $19.04 per share, for a total transaction of $612,231.20. Following the acquisition, the insider now directly owns 7,651,210 shares of the company's stock, valued at $145,679,038.40. This represents a 0.42 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Stacy Hock sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.50, for a total value of $225,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 897,604 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,196,090. This represents a 1.10 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 15.98% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AESI shares. Benchmark reduced their target price on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, April 2nd. Stephens increased their price target on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Piper Sandler began coverage on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, March 12th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $22.00 price target for the company. Finally, Bank of America restated a "neutral" rating and set a $22.50 price target on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given 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 an average price target of $22.44.

Atlas Energy Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AESI traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $14.26. 98,265 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,251,349. The company has a market cap of $1.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.98 and a beta of 1.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.23. Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. has a one year low of $12.41 and a one year high of $26.86. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $16.63 and a 200 day moving average of $20.15.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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). Atlas Energy Solutions had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 11.01%. The firm had revenue of $271.34 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $272.94 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. will post 0.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 7.01%. Atlas Energy Solutions's dividend payout ratio is currently 178.57%.

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.