Renaissance Technologies LLC Lowers Stock Position in American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD)

Renaissance Technologies LLC trimmed its position in American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 279,552 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 22,900 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in American Vanguard were worth $2,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of American Vanguard by 4.5% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,685,126 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $18,486,000 after purchasing an additional 73,120 shares during the period. Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Vanguard by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Cruiser Capital Advisors LLC now owns 974,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,686,000 after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP raised its holdings in American Vanguard by 256.9% during the fourth 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. Cove Street Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of American Vanguard by 166.1% in the first quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 709,287 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,185,000 after acquiring an additional 442,702 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 3.6% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 354,662 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,591,000 after acquiring an additional 12,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at American Vanguard

In other American Vanguard news, insider Peter Eilers sold 5,000 shares of American Vanguard stock in a transaction on 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Keith M. Rosenbloom purchased 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 acquisition, the director now 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Peter Eilers sold 5,000 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 42,905 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $248,849. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have acquired a total of 163,047 shares of company stock valued at $938,205 over the last 90 days. 10.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on AVD. StockNews.com raised American Vanguard from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Lake Street Capital assumed coverage on shares of American Vanguard in a research report 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 hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, American Vanguard currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

American Vanguard Trading Down 3.1 %

Shares of AVD stock opened at $5.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $143.70 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.75 and a beta of 0.88. American Vanguard Co. has a 12-month low of $4.95 and a 12-month high of $14.28. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $6.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $8.87.

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 firm had revenue of $128.21 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $134.20 million. American Vanguard had a positive return on equity of 1.85% and a negative net margin of 0.60%. Equities research analysts predict that American Vanguard Co. will post 0.02 EPS 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.