Insider Buying: Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT) VP Purchases 3,400 Shares of Stock

Ascent Industries Co. (NASDAQ:ACNT) VP Anthony Pan purchased 3,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $13.30 per share, for a total transaction of $45,220.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president directly owned 20,651 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $274,658.30. The trade was a 19.71% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Ascent Industries Stock Down 0.7%

ACNT traded down $0.09 during trading on Monday, reaching $13.17. 111,793 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 77,294. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $16.58 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 6.72 and a quick ratio of 6.01. Ascent Industries Co. has a fifty-two week low of $11.43 and a fifty-two week high of $17.92. The stock has a market cap of $124.72 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 119.74 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Ascent Industries declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascent Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ACNT. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bought a new stake in Ascent Industries in the 1st quarter valued at $227,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in shares of Ascent Industries by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 47,620 shares of the company’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 2,927 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in Ascent Industries in the first quarter valued at about $269,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Ascent Industries in the second quarter valued at about $134,000. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new position in Ascent Industries in the second quarter worth about $151,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 26.05% of the company’s stock.

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.