Short Interest in American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Decreases By 12.3%

American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 843,200 shares, a decrease of 12.3% from the August 15th total of 962,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 305,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Activity at American Vanguard

In other American Vanguard news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom acquired 33,555 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $5.66 per share, for a total transaction of $189,921.30. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 1,047,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,928,340.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom bought 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $5.94 per share, for a total transaction of $148,500.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,193,682 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,090,471.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom purchased 33,555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $5.66 per share, with a total value of $189,921.30. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,047,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,928,340.60. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 163,047 shares of company stock valued at $938,205. Insiders own 10.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of American Vanguard

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invenomic Capital Management LP increased its position in American Vanguard by 256.9% in the 4th quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 876,708 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,617,000 after acquiring an additional 631,070 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 788.8% during the first quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 310,598 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,022,000 after purchasing an additional 275,653 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Vanguard during the fourth quarter valued at about $197,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in American Vanguard in the second quarter worth about $1,677,000. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in American Vanguard by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,591,000 after buying an additional 12,254 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

American Vanguard Stock Performance

AVD stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.86. The company had a trading volume of 205,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,317. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.99 million, a PE ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 0.88. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $7.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $9.27. American Vanguard has a fifty-two week low of $4.95 and a fifty-two week high of $14.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last released its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $128.21 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $134.20 million. American Vanguard had a negative net margin of 0.60% and a positive return on equity of 1.85%. Analysts anticipate that American Vanguard will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AVD. StockNews.com lowered American Vanguard from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on American Vanguard in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 price objective on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Vanguard has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $16.67.

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.