Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) Short Interest Update

Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 13,820,000 shares, an increase of 9.2% from the November 30th total of 12,650,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,210,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 11.4 days. Currently, 21.2% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, major shareholder Stacy Hock sold 8,571 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $22.55, for a total transaction of $193,276.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 917,604 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,691,970.20. This represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Brian Anthony Leveille sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $720,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 432,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,376,880.20. This represents a 6.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders purchased 60,869 shares of company stock worth $1,187,983 and sold 133,213 shares worth $2,959,311. 24.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 126,667 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,761,000 after purchasing an additional 28,158 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 5.3% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 518,569 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,305,000 after buying an additional 25,999 shares in the last quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 27.9% during the third quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 586,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,775,000 after buying an additional 127,910 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. acquired a new position in Atlas Energy Solutions during the third quarter worth about $844,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,751,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,173,000 after purchasing an additional 227,776 shares in the last quarter. 34.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Pickering Energy Partners lowered Atlas Energy Solutions from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Citigroup lowered shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a report on Thursday, November 14th. Barclays lowered Atlas Energy Solutions from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $23.00 to $19.00 in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Atlas Energy Solutions in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.67.

Atlas Energy Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE AESI traded up $0.53 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $22.85. The company had a trading volume of 71,432 shares, compared to its average volume of 954,107. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $21.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.00. The firm has a market cap of $2.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.96. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $15.55 and a fifty-two week high of $24.93.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $304.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $307.93 million. Atlas Energy Solutions had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 11.01%. Atlas Energy Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was up 93.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Atlas Energy Solutions will post 0.88 EPS for the current year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.20%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. Atlas Energy Solutions’s payout ratio is 121.52%.

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.