Insider Buying: American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Director Buys 104,492 Shares of Stock

American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Director Keith M. Rosenbloom purchased 104,492 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were acquired at an average cost 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 $6,708,234.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

American Vanguard Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE AVD opened at $6.13 on Friday. American Vanguard Co. has a 52 week low of $4.95 and a 52 week high of $14.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $171.41 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.56 and a beta of 0.91. 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 fifty day moving average of $7.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $9.56.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $128.21 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $134.20 million. On average, analysts predict that American Vanguard Co. will post 0.02 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 492.4% during the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,340 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 1,945 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its position in shares of American Vanguard by 251.5% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 178,038 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,953,000 after purchasing an additional 127,386 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of American Vanguard during the fourth quarter valued at $37,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets grew its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 155.3% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 104,022 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after purchasing an additional 63,271 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 39,163 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 7,631 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

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.