AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) Shares Gap Up After Strong Earnings

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Monday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $18.77, but opened at $19.50. AdvanSix shares last traded at $18.9050, with a volume of 60,739 shares traded.

The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.09. AdvanSix had a return on equity of 6.97% and a net margin of 3.24%.The firm had revenue of $359.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.85 million.

AdvanSix Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 9th. AdvanSix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on ASIX. Wall Street Zen raised shares of AdvanSix from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Truist Financial upped their price target on AdvanSix from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of AdvanSix in a report on Monday, December 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $29.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AdvanSix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ASIX. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in AdvanSix during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $246,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 144,284 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 14,084 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new position in AdvanSix during the fourth quarter valued at $443,000. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL purchased a new stake in AdvanSix in the fourth quarter valued at $984,000. Finally, Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in AdvanSix in the fourth quarter valued at $386,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.39% of the company’s stock.

AdvanSix Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $17.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $18.27. The firm has a market cap of $497.58 million, a PE ratio of 10.23 and a beta of 1.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.13.

AdvanSix Company Profile

AdvanSix, Inc (NYSE: ASIX) is an integrated chemical manufacturer specializing in the production of nylon 6 intermediates and related co‐products. Established as a publicly traded spin‐off from Honeywell Specialty Chemicals in June 2016, the company is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

The company’s principal product is caprolactam, the key building block for nylon 6 resin, used in fibers and engineering plastics across industries. In addition to caprolactam and nylon 6 resin, AdvanSix produces ammonium sulfate fertilizer and industrial chemicals such as phenol and acetone.