Principal Financial Group Inc. Takes $844,000 Position in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 38,715 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 58.5% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 530,197 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,567,000 after acquiring an additional 195,772 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank purchased a new position in Atlas Energy Solutions in the second quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its position in Atlas Energy Solutions by 230.1% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 84,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after buying an additional 58,981 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 13.9% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,622,241 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,331,000 after buying an additional 197,783 shares during the period. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in the second quarter worth $215,000. 34.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on AESI. Citigroup cut shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Pickering Energy Partners downgraded Atlas Energy Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays cut Atlas Energy Solutions from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $19.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price objective on the stock. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.67.

Atlas Energy Solutions Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE AESI opened at $22.98 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.96. 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 Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.55 and a 12 month high of $24.93. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $21.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.07.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $304.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.93 million. Atlas Energy Solutions had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 8.78%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 93.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. will post 0.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.24 dividend. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.18%. This is an increase from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Atlas Energy Solutions’s payout ratio is 121.52%.

Insider Activity at Atlas Energy Solutions

In related news, major shareholder Brian Anthony Leveille sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $20.50, for a total value of $205,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 542,010 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,111,205. This trade represents a 1.81 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Stacy Hock sold 8,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.12, for a total value of $181,019.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 926,175 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $19,560,816. The trade was a 0.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have bought 60,869 shares of company stock valued at $1,187,983 and have sold 124,642 shares valued at $2,775,121. Corporate insiders own 24.34% of the company’s stock.

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.