Principal Financial Group Inc. Acquires New Position in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI)

Principal Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 38,715 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $844,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Emerald Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 28.4% in the 3rd quarter. Emerald Advisers LLC now owns 10,850 shares of the company's stock valued at $237,000 after acquiring an additional 2,400 shares during the period. Modera Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Atlas Energy Solutions during the 3rd quarter worth $322,000. Tectonic Advisors LLC increased its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 7.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tectonic Advisors LLC now owns 59,725 shares of the company's stock worth $1,302,000 after buying an additional 4,187 shares during the period. Copeland Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 19.8% during the 3rd quarter. Copeland Capital Management LLC now owns 1,884,032 shares of the company's stock worth $41,072,000 after buying an additional 311,228 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in Atlas Energy Solutions by 14.8% during the 3rd quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 65,578 shares of the company's stock worth $1,430,000 after buying an additional 8,436 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 34.59% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, major shareholder Brian Anthony Leveille sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.70, for a total value of $207,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 482,010 shares in the company, valued at $9,977,607. The trade was a 2.03 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, major shareholder Stacy Hock sold 8,571 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $21.49, for a total transaction of $184,190.79. Following the sale, the insider now owns 934,746 shares in the company, valued at $20,087,691.54. This represents a 0.91 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 60,869 shares of company stock worth $1,187,983 and have sold 75,713 shares worth $1,581,831. 24.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Atlas Energy Solutions Price Performance

Shares of AESI stock traded up $2.08 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $23.59. 4,675,272 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,004,219. Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. has a 12 month low of $15.55 and a 12 month high of $24.93. The company has a market cap of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 11.90 and a beta of 0.69. The company's 50 day moving average price is $21.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $21.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.23.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The company reported $0.04 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.29 by ($0.25). Atlas Energy Solutions had a return on equity of 11.01% and a net margin of 8.78%. The company had revenue of $304.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $307.93 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.51 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 93.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. will post 0.8 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The business 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 dividend yield of 4.07%. This is an increase 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 payout ratio is 121.52%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $23.00 to $21.00 in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Barclays downgraded shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock 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 report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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 report on Thursday, November 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Atlas Energy Solutions currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $24.44.

Atlas Energy Solutions 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.