American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) Stock Rating Lowered by Wall Street Zen

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) was downgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of American Vanguard from a “sell (d-)” rating to a “sell (e+)” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Sell rating, According to MarketBeat, American Vanguard currently has an average rating of “Sell”.

American Vanguard Stock Performance

NYSE:AVD opened at $2.10 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.40, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.46. American Vanguard has a twelve month low of $2.05 and a twelve month high of $5.92. The company has a fifty day moving average of $2.63 and a 200-day moving average of $3.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $62.10 million, a P/E ratio of -1.11 and a beta of 1.43.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last issued its earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.34) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.09 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $116.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $135.00 million. American Vanguard had a negative return on equity of 9.05% and a negative net margin of 10.70%.

Insider Activity at American Vanguard

In other news, Director Patrick E. Gottschalk bought 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $2.70 per share, with a total value of $67,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 191,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $517,603.50. This trade represents a 15.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Vanguard

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in American Vanguard by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 1,700,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $6,495,000 after buying an additional 71,632 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of American Vanguard in the second quarter valued at $2,614,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 2.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 639,301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after buying an additional 13,657 shares during the last quarter. EVR Research LP grew its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 82.0% during the fourth quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 618,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,363,000 after buying an additional 278,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Potomac Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of American Vanguard during the fourth quarter worth about $1,751,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.00% of the company’s stock.

About American Vanguard

American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE: AVD) is a developer, manufacturer and marketer of specialty chemical products for crop protection, turf and ornamental care, and public health pest control. Headquartered in Newport Beach, California, the company offers a portfolio of insecticides, herbicides, fungicides and rodenticides designed for use across agricultural, turf and urban pest management applications. Its research and development efforts focus on novel chemistries and formulation technologies that address emerging pest resistance and regulatory requirements.

The company’s product lines include emulsifiable concentrates, wettable powders, granular formulations, baits and liquid concentrates sold under proprietary brand names.