Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 12,650,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the November 15th total of 10,580,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,160,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 10.9 days. Currently, 19.4% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Atlas Energy Solutions news, major shareholder Gregory M. Shepard acquired 1,797 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 18th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $19.65 per share, for a total transaction of $35,311.05. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider now directly owns 7,507,194 shares in the company, valued at $147,516,362.10. The trade was a 0.02 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, major shareholder Brian Anthony Leveille sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.02, for a total transaction of $720,600.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 432,010 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,376,880.20. This trade represents a 6.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have acquired 60,869 shares of company stock worth $1,187,983 and have sold 119,642 shares worth $2,650,185. 24.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Atlas Energy Solutions

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 575.2% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 19,784 shares of the company’s stock worth $448,000 after purchasing an additional 16,854 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 60.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock worth $434,000 after purchasing an additional 8,195 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 313.7% in the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 1,725 shares of the company’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 1,308 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 58.5% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 530,197 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,567,000 after buying an additional 195,772 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions during the 2nd quarter valued at $74,000. 34.59% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Atlas Energy Solutions Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE:AESI opened at $23.16 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.32, a PEG ratio of 11.53 and a beta of 0.96. Atlas Energy Solutions has a 1-year low of $15.55 and a 1-year high of $24.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.23. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $21.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $21.00.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.25). The business 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 93.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.51 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Atlas Energy Solutions will post 0.88 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.24 per share. This represents a $0.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.15%. This is a boost from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.23. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Atlas Energy Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 121.52%.

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.