KEMPER Corp Makes New $776,000 Investment in Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI)

KEMPER Corp bought a new position in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. (NYSE:AESI) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 38,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $776,000. Atlas Energy Solutions makes up 70.4% of KEMPER Corp’s investment portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions by 313.7% in the second 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. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank acquired a new stake in Atlas Energy Solutions during the second quarter worth about $74,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale bought a new position in Atlas Energy Solutions in the 1st quarter valued at about $78,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $106,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Atlas Energy Solutions during the 1st quarter worth approximately $154,000. 34.59% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Atlas Energy Solutions

In other news, major shareholder Stacy Hock sold 8,574 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $19.76, for a total transaction of $169,422.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 969,030 shares in the company, valued at $19,148,032.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, major shareholder Stacy Hock sold 8,574 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.76, for a total transaction of $169,422.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 969,030 shares in the company, valued at $19,148,032.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Gregory M. Shepard bought 3,248 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $21.68 per share, for a total transaction of $70,416.64. Following the acquisition, the insider now owns 7,503,197 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $162,669,310.96. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have purchased 134,526 shares of company stock worth $2,611,884 and have sold 34,287 shares worth $679,825. Corporate insiders own 24.34% of the company’s stock.

Atlas Energy Solutions Stock Performance

NYSE:AESI opened at $20.64 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $20.39 and its 200-day moving average is $21.36. The stock has a market cap of $2.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.56. Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. has a 1-year low of $15.55 and a 1-year high of $24.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Atlas Energy Solutions (NYSE:AESI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 5th. The company reported $0.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.31 by ($0.18). The business had revenue of $287.52 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $270.55 million. Atlas Energy Solutions had a net margin of 13.71% and a return on equity of 16.75%. The company’s revenue was up 77.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Atlas Energy Solutions Inc. will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Atlas Energy Solutions Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 15th were issued a dividend of $0.23 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 15th. This is an increase from Atlas Energy Solutions’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $0.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.46%. Atlas Energy Solutions’s payout ratio is presently 51.11%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $25.00 to $24.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Tudor Pickering upgraded Atlas Energy Solutions to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Atlas Energy Solutions from $29.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions from $27.00 to $26.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $28.00 price target on shares of Atlas Energy Solutions in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $26.25.

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.