American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) Raised to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report released on Wednesday morning.

Separately, Lake Street Capital started coverage on shares of American Vanguard in a report on Monday, July 22nd. They issued a buy rating and a $14.00 price objective for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, American Vanguard currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $16.67.

American Vanguard Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:AVD opened at $5.27 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $6.65 and a 200 day moving average of $8.99. American Vanguard has a 52-week low of $4.95 and a 52-week high of $14.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 2.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.48 million, a PE ratio of 20.27 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 256.9% during the fourth quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 876,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,617,000 after buying an additional 631,070 shares during the period. Cove Street Capital LLC increased its position in American Vanguard by 166.1% during the 1st quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 709,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,185,000 after purchasing an additional 442,702 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in American Vanguard by 788.8% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 310,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 275,653 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. purchased a new stake in shares of American Vanguard in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,677,000. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Vanguard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,006,000. Institutional investors own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

About American Vanguard

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.