Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Shares of Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $25.18 and last traded at $24.93, with a volume of 142341 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $24.63.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AESI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup downgraded Atlas Energy Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.50 target price on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research report on Monday, January 13th. 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 research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Raymond James downgraded Atlas Energy Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.50.

Atlas Energy Solutions Price Performance

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.29. The stock has a market cap of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.64, a PEG ratio of 5.55 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.29 by ($0.25). Atlas Energy Solutions had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 11.01%. The firm had revenue of $304.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.51 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 93.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. will post 0.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.24 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $0.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. This is a boost from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Atlas Energy Solutions’s dividend payout ratio is presently 121.52%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlas Energy Solutions

In other news, major shareholder Brian Anthony Leveille sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $23.17, for a total transaction of $115,850.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 409,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,488,346.70. This represents a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Gregory M. Shepard purchased 8,062 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The shares were bought at an average price of $19.84 per share, for a total transaction of $159,950.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,515,256 shares in the company, valued at approximately $149,102,679.04. This trade represents a 0.11 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 59,072 shares of company stock worth $1,152,672 and have sold 137,142 shares worth $3,084,721. 24.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlas Energy Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Quest Partners LLC bought a new position in Atlas Energy Solutions in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 328.1% in the 2nd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 1,801 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 101.0% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,696 shares of the company’s stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 1,355 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 47.1% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,766 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 886 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale grew its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 54.1% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 5,297 shares of the company’s stock worth $107,000 after buying an additional 1,860 shares in the last quarter. 34.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.