Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Makes New Investment in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund purchased a new stake in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 33,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $736,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 2,247,774 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,856,000 after purchasing an additional 363,742 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 15.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,751,059 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,173,000 after purchasing an additional 227,776 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 3.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,448,340 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,579,000 after buying an additional 54,321 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 75.5% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 835,683 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,535,000 after buying an additional 359,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Atlas Energy Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $17,314,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 34.59% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Atlas Energy Solutions news, major shareholder Brian Anthony Leveille sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.00, for a total transaction of $115,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 404,510 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,303,730. The trade was a 1.22 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Stacy Hock sold 8,571 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 917,604 shares in the company, valued at $20,691,970.20. This trade represents a 0.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 63,571 shares of company stock worth $1,473,876. Company insiders own 24.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AESI. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $23.00 to $19.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Atlas Energy Solutions in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $23.00 target price for the company. Stephens upped their price target on Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price objective on Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $25.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Six investment 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $24.39.

Atlas Energy Solutions Trading Down 6.9 %

NYSE AESI opened at $18.04 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84 and a beta of 1.03. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $21.69. 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 one year low of $17.49 and a one year high of $26.86.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.18 by ($0.12). Atlas Energy Solutions had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 8.78%. The company had revenue of $271.34 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $272.94 million. Research analysts expect that Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. will post 0.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is an increase from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Atlas Energy Solutions’s payout ratio is 178.57%.

About Atlas Energy Solutions

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.