American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) Upgraded at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report published on Sunday morning.

Separately, Lake Street Capital cut their target price on American Vanguard from $14.00 to $12.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th.

American Vanguard Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of NYSE:AVD opened at $3.86 on Friday. American Vanguard has a 12 month low of $3.28 and a 12 month high of $9.84. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $4.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.73. The firm has a market cap of $108.97 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -3.75 and a beta of 1.28.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last released its earnings results on Friday, June 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.03) by ($0.21). The firm had revenue of $127.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $127.00 million. American Vanguard had a negative return on equity of 41.65% and a negative net margin of 25.83%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.06 EPS.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Vanguard

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AVD. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of American Vanguard in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in American Vanguard by 1,732.4% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 58,234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $253,000 after purchasing an additional 55,056 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in shares of American Vanguard by 287.6% during the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 40,509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 30,058 shares during the last quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 35.0% during the 1st quarter. Cove Street Capital LLC now owns 1,119,539 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,926,000 after purchasing an additional 290,246 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 117.8% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after buying an additional 236,212 shares during the last quarter. 79.04% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

American Vanguard Company Profile

American Vanguard Corporation, through its subsidiaries, develops, manufactures, and markets specialty chemicals for agricultural, commercial, and consumer uses in the United States and internationally. It manufactures and formulates chemicals, including insecticides, fungicides, herbicides, soil health, plant nutrition, molluscicides, growth regulators, soil fumigants, and biorationals in liquid, powder, and granular forms for crops, turf and ornamental plants, and human and animal health protection.