Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT) VP Acquires $45,220.00 in Stock

Ascent Industries Co. (NASDAQ:ACNT) VP Anthony Pan bought 3,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $13.30 per share, with a total value of $45,220.00. Following the purchase, the vice president directly owned 20,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $274,658.30. This trade represents a 19.71% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Ascent Industries Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ACNT opened at $12.72 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $16.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $14.43. Ascent Industries Co. has a 52 week low of $11.46 and a 52 week high of $17.92. The company has a market cap of $120.46 million, a P/E ratio of 115.65 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a quick ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01.

Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.16 by ($0.27). Ascent Industries had a negative return on equity of 2.89% and a net margin of 1.06%.The firm had revenue of $11.86 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.90 million.

Ascent Industries announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Thursday, December 18th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Ascent Industries by 0.4% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 438,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,643,000 after acquiring an additional 1,833 shares during the period. Bard Associates Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ascent Industries by 90.0% during the 3rd quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 326,948 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 154,888 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its position in Ascent Industries by 8.0% during the 4th quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 295,100 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,778,000 after purchasing an additional 21,800 shares in the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its holdings in Ascent Industries by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 218,394 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,536,000 after buying an additional 2,014 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Ascent Industries by 91.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 194,433 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,452,000 after buying an additional 93,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.05% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded Ascent Industries from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Ascent Industries Company Profile

Ascent Industries Co an industrials company, produces and distributes stainless steel pipe and tube and specialty chemicals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Tubular Products and Specialty Chemicals. It manufactures welded pipes and tubes, primarily from stainless steel, duplex, and nickel alloys; and ornamental stainless steel tubes for automotive, commercial transportation, marine, food services, construction, furniture, healthcare, and other industries.