AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) Shares Gap Up Following Dividend Announcement

AdvanSix Inc. (NYSE:ASIX)’s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Friday after the company announced a dividend. The stock had previously closed at $28.37, but opened at $31.00. AdvanSix shares last traded at $29.89, with a volume of 38,276 shares trading hands.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be issued a dividend of $0.16 per share. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. AdvanSix’s dividend payout ratio is presently 213.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com raised AdvanSix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th.

AdvanSix Stock Up 2.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $773.34 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.47 and a beta of 1.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $29.30 and a 200 day moving average of $26.56.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, August 2nd. The company reported $1.48 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $453.48 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $426.80 million. AdvanSix had a net margin of 0.57% and a return on equity of 1.03%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that AdvanSix Inc. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Erin N. Kane sold 5,000 shares of AdvanSix stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.28, for a total transaction of $151,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 522,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,830,232.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,620 shares of company stock valued at $170,603. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AdvanSix

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its position in shares of AdvanSix by 89.8% in the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 13,203 shares of the company’s stock valued at $378,000 after acquiring an additional 6,245 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in AdvanSix by 8.1% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 132,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,791,000 after purchasing an additional 9,975 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of AdvanSix during the 1st quarter worth approximately $200,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 227.0% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 150,663 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,309,000 after purchasing an additional 104,587 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of AdvanSix by 48.0% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 11,192 shares of the company’s stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 3,630 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.39% of the company’s stock.

About AdvanSix

AdvanSix Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of polymer resins in the United States and internationally. It offers Nylon 6, a polymer resin, which is a synthetic material used to produce fibers, filaments, engineered plastics, and films. The company also provides caprolactam to manufacture polymer resins; ammonium sulfate fertilizers to distributors, farm cooperatives, and retailers; and acetone that are used in the production of adhesives, paints, coatings, solvents, herbicides, and engineered plastic resins, as well as other intermediate chemicals, including phenol, monoisopropylamine, dipropylamine, monoallylamine, alpha-methylstyrene, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketoxime, acetaldehyde oxime, 2-pentanone oxime, cyclohexanol, sulfuric acid, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.