Short Interest in AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) Decreases By 40.5%

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) was the target of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totaling 708,824 shares, a decrease of 40.5% from the December 15th total of 1,191,917 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 878,210 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Based on an average trading volume of 878,210 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 0.8 days. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ASIX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of AdvanSix in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Truist Financial started coverage on AdvanSix in a report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $19.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.67.

AdvanSix Price Performance

Shares of AdvanSix stock traded down $0.91 on Friday, hitting $17.03. The company had a trading volume of 464,329 shares, compared to its average volume of 583,644. AdvanSix has a 52 week low of $14.10 and a 52 week high of $32.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 1.36 and a quick ratio of 0.74. The company has a market cap of $457.60 million, a PE ratio of 8.87 and a beta of 1.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $16.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $19.10.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) last announced its earnings results on Friday, November 7th. The company reported $0.08 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.40 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $374.47 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $365.00 million. AdvanSix had a return on equity of 7.14% and a net margin of 3.52%. Research analysts expect that AdvanSix will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AdvanSix Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 18th were paid a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 18th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.8%. AdvanSix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.33%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AdvanSix

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ASIX. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 55.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 948,491 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,382,000 after acquiring an additional 337,908 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in AdvanSix during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,054,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 165.2% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 413,813 shares of the company’s stock valued at $9,828,000 after purchasing an additional 257,789 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 359.8% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 192,972 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,740,000 after purchasing an additional 151,003 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE boosted its position in shares of AdvanSix by 133.4% in the second quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 238,874 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,673,000 after buying an additional 136,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.