AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) Trading Down 4.8% – Here’s Why

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) shares dropped 4.8% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $19.39 and last traded at $19.4950. 63,175 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average session volume of 372,739 shares. The stock had previously closed at $20.48.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on ASIX shares. Weiss Ratings lowered AdvanSix from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Zacks Research upgraded AdvanSix to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered AdvanSix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $22.50.

AdvanSix Price Performance

The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $21.51 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.39. The firm has a market cap of $548.64 million, a P/E ratio of 55.00 and a beta of 1.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 1.23.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.02). The business had revenue of $404.18 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $364.90 million. AdvanSix had a return on equity of 2.18% and a net margin of 0.67%. On average, analysts anticipate that AdvanSix will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AdvanSix Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. AdvanSix’s payout ratio is presently 172.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASIX. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in AdvanSix by 23.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 18,990 shares of the company’s stock worth $430,000 after purchasing an additional 3,575 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in AdvanSix by 35.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 74,743 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after buying an additional 19,668 shares during the period. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in AdvanSix by 4.2% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 15,147 shares of the company’s stock valued at $343,000 after buying an additional 604 shares during the period. Creative Planning boosted its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 13.2% during the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,961 shares of the company’s stock valued at $284,000 after buying an additional 1,399 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 120,113 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,853,000 after buying an additional 3,696 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.39% of the company’s stock.

About AdvanSix

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.