American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the four analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $16.67.

Several analysts recently weighed in on AVD shares. StockNews.com cut shares of American Vanguard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 10th. Lake Street Capital started coverage on shares of American Vanguard in a report on Monday, July 22nd. They set a “buy” rating and a $14.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of American Vanguard from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th.

American Vanguard Stock Performance

NYSE:AVD opened at $9.56 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $267.58 million, a P/E ratio of 36.77 and a beta of 0.91. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $8.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $10.33. American Vanguard has a twelve month low of $7.94 and a twelve month high of $18.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The basic materials company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.08 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $135.14 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $141.20 million. American Vanguard had a net margin of 1.22% and a return on equity of 2.20%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.07 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that American Vanguard will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

American Vanguard Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 10th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 26th were paid a $0.03 dividend. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 26th. American Vanguard’s payout ratio is 46.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Steven D. Macicek purchased 8,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of $9.01 per share, for a total transaction of $76,585.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 10,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,496.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Ulrich Trogele purchased 18,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average price of $8.75 per share, for a total transaction of $159,250.00. Following the purchase, the insider now directly owns 209,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,836,415. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Steven D. Macicek bought 8,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $9.01 per share, with a total value of $76,585.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,044 shares in the company, valued at approximately $90,496.44. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 10.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Vanguard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Pullen Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in American Vanguard by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Pullen Investment Management LLC now owns 70,089 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,628 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in American Vanguard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $118,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in American Vanguard by 7,554.5% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 4,155 shares during the period. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new position in American Vanguard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in American Vanguard during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,677,000. 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.