AQR Capital Management LLC Invests $1.01 Million in American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD)

AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 117,033 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,000. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.42% of American Vanguard at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 195.7% in the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 5,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 3,362 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP bought a new position in shares of American Vanguard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $216,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its stake in American Vanguard by 67.5% during the second quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 520,398 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,475,000 after purchasing an additional 209,800 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 40.0% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,189 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $380,000 after buying an additional 12,625 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perritt Capital Management Inc bought a new stake in American Vanguard during the second quarter worth approximately $172,000. 79.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AVD. Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on shares of American Vanguard in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of American Vanguard from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, American Vanguard presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $16.67.

Insider Transactions at American Vanguard

In other American Vanguard news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom purchased 33,555 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were bought at an average price of $5.66 per share, for a total transaction of $189,921.30. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 1,047,410 shares in the company, valued at $5,928,340.60. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom acquired 104,492 shares of American Vanguard stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $5.74 per share, for a total transaction of $599,784.08. Following the purchase, the director now owns 1,168,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,708,234.68. This represents a 0.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom bought 33,555 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.66 per share, for a total transaction of $189,921.30. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 1,047,410 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,928,340.60. The trade was a 0.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders bought a total of 163,047 shares of company stock worth $938,205 over the last three months. 10.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

American Vanguard Price Performance

Shares of AVD opened at $5.15 on Friday. American Vanguard Co. has a twelve month low of $4.95 and a twelve month high of $14.28. The company has a 50 day moving average of $5.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $8.52. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $143.98 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.79 and a beta of 0.87.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last posted its quarterly 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). The company had revenue of $128.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.20 million. American Vanguard had a positive return on equity of 1.85% and a negative net margin of 0.60%. As a group, analysts predict that American Vanguard Co. will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.