American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Short Interest Update

American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 833,600 shares, an increase of 21.5% from the September 15th total of 686,100 shares. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 291,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.94 per share, for a total transaction of $148,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,193,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,090,471.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other American Vanguard news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom acquired 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.94 per share, for a total transaction of $148,500.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,193,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,090,471.08. This trade represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom acquired 104,492 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $5.74 per share, for a total transaction of $599,784.08. Following the transaction, the director now owns 1,168,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,708,234.68. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders bought 163,047 shares of company stock worth $938,205. Corporate insiders own 10.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Vanguard

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVD. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,685,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,486,000 after acquiring an additional 73,120 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Vanguard in the first quarter valued at $275,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its position in shares of American Vanguard by 3.6% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 107,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,787 shares during the period. Pullen Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of American Vanguard during the 1st quarter worth about $887,000. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 37.0% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 31,564 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $409,000 after buying an additional 8,530 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

American Vanguard Stock Performance

Shares of AVD stock opened at $5.11 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $5.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $8.35. American Vanguard has a one year low of $4.95 and a one year high of $14.28. The stock has a market cap of $142.86 million, a P/E ratio of 19.63 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 2.22 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.08). American Vanguard had a negative net margin of 0.60% and a positive return on equity of 1.85%. The firm had revenue of $128.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.20 million. As a group, equities analysts predict that American Vanguard will post 0.02 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AVD shares. Lake Street Capital initiated coverage on American Vanguard in a report on Monday, July 22nd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded American Vanguard from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Vanguard presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

American Vanguard Company Profile

American Vanguard Corporation, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets specialty chemicals for agricultural, commercial, and consumer uses in the United States and internationally. It manufactures and formulates chemicals, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, soil health, plant nutrition, molluscicides, growth regulators, soil fumigants, and biorationals in liquid, powder, and granular forms for crops, turf and ornamental plants, and human and animal health protection.