Royal Bank of Canada Cuts Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) Price Target to $25.00

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) had its target price lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $28.00 to $25.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

AESI has been the subject of several other reports. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $28.00 to $25.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Raymond James lowered Atlas Energy Solutions from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $22.50 target price on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup cut shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $23.00 to $22.00 in a research report on Thursday, November 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $24.83.

Atlas Energy Solutions Price Performance

Atlas Energy Solutions stock opened at $19.38 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.37 and its 200 day simple moving average is $21.66. Atlas Energy Solutions has a 12 month low of $17.49 and a 12 month high of $26.86. The company has a market cap of $2.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by ($0.12). Atlas Energy Solutions had a net margin of 8.78% and a return on equity of 11.01%. The business had revenue of $271.34 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $272.94 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Atlas Energy Solutions will post 0.83 EPS for the current year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, February 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.16%. Atlas Energy Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 126.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Stacy Hock sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $21.96, for a total transaction of $219,600.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 907,604 shares in the company, valued at $19,930,983.84. This trade represents a 1.09 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Brian Anthony Leveille sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $23.17, for a total value of $115,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 409,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,488,346.70. The trade was a 1.21 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 76,071 shares of company stock valued at $1,773,251. Corporate insiders own 24.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ashford Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 36.1% in the 4th quarter. Ashford Capital Management Inc. now owns 797,675 shares of the company’s stock worth $17,692,000 after acquiring an additional 211,675 shares during the last quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 135.0% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 68,880 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 39,570 shares during the period. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 44.9% in the fourth quarter. Snowden Capital Advisors LLC now owns 24,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares during the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Atlas Energy Solutions by 40.6% during the 4th quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC now owns 290,319 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,439,000 after purchasing an additional 83,843 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC raised its position in Atlas Energy Solutions by 58.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 20,330 shares of the company’s stock valued at $451,000 after purchasing an additional 7,492 shares during the last quarter. 34.59% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.