American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Short Interest Down 12.3% in August

American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in 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 presently 2.8 days. Approximately 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of American Vanguard

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pullen Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC increased its stake 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. Point72 DIFC Ltd raised its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 195.7% during the second quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 5,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 3,362 shares in the last quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC boosted its position in American Vanguard by 4.7% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new position in American Vanguard in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. 79.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Vanguard Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of AVD traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $5.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 205,216 shares, compared to its average volume of 251,317. The company has a market cap of $163.99 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.73 and a beta of 0.88. The business has a fifty day moving average of $7.19 and a 200 day moving average of $9.27. 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 has a 1 year low of $4.95 and a 1 year high of $14.28.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 8th. The basic materials company reported ($0.09) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $128.21 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.20 million. As a group, analysts forecast that American Vanguard will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.