American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Shares Bought by Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) by 40.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,625 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. owned about 0.16% of American Vanguard worth $380,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Pullen Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in American Vanguard by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 70,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $603,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of American Vanguard by 25.0% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 15,000 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $194,000 after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in American Vanguard by 4.7% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 79,596 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,031,000 after purchasing an additional 3,571 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new position in American Vanguard during the second quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in American Vanguard by 3.6% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 107,809 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 3,787 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

American Vanguard Stock Performance

Shares of AVD stock opened at $5.56 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $7.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $9.18. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. American Vanguard Co. has a 52 week low of $4.95 and a 52 week high of $14.28. The company has a market cap of $155.60 million, a PE ratio of 21.38 and a beta of 0.88.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom acquired 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price 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 approximately $7,090,471.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other American Vanguard news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom bought 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $5.94 per share, with a total value of $148,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 1,193,682 shares in the company, valued at $7,090,471.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Peter Eilers sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $5.80, for a total value of $29,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 42,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $248,849. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders purchased a total of 163,047 shares of company stock worth $938,205 in the last 90 days. 10.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.