Short Interest in American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) Drops By 70.7%

American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totaling 238,225 shares, a drop of 70.7% from the June 15th total of 813,914 shares. Currently, 0.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 705,640 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 0.3 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

American Vanguard Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of AVD stock traded up $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $2.69. 139,054 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 463,570. American Vanguard has a 12 month low of $2.05 and a 12 month high of $5.92. The company has a market cap of $76.82 million, a P/E ratio of -1.69 and a beta of 1.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $2.78 and its 200-day moving average price is $3.48.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by ($0.08). American Vanguard had a negative return on equity of 4.13% and a negative net margin of 8.71%.The business had revenue of $123.57 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $120.00 million.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other American Vanguard news, Director Patrick E. Gottschalk purchased 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $2.70 per share, for a total transaction of $67,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 191,705 shares in the company, valued at approximately $517,603.50. This represents a 15.00% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Vanguard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $6,495,000 after purchasing an additional 71,632 shares during the last quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of American Vanguard by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 1,398,986 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $8,030,000 after purchasing an additional 150,703 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 639,301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,506,000 after buying an additional 13,657 shares during the last quarter. EVR Research LP grew its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 82.0% in the 4th quarter. EVR Research LP now owns 618,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,363,000 after buying an additional 278,657 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Potomac Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in American Vanguard during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,751,000. Institutional investors own 79.00% of the company’s stock.

American Vanguard Company Profile

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.