American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) Short Interest Up 35.3% in March

American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totaling 949,010 shares, an increase of 35.3% from the March 15th total of 701,243 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 741,253 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of American Vanguard in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, American Vanguard currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $12.00.

American Vanguard Stock Performance

NYSE AVD traded up $0.11 on Friday, hitting $2.72. 97,469 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 312,908. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $3.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $4.32. The firm has a market cap of $77.49 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.56 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.77 and a quick ratio of 0.93. American Vanguard has a fifty-two week low of $2.05 and a fifty-two week high of $5.92.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 16th. The basic materials company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.22). American Vanguard had a negative return on equity of 5.13% and a negative net margin of 9.68%.The business had revenue of $150.69 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $163.00 million.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On American Vanguard

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of AVD. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in shares of American Vanguard by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 22,456 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,000 after buying an additional 2,921 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in American Vanguard by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 126,269 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $482,000 after acquiring an additional 4,391 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in American Vanguard during the 1st quarter worth $28,000. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position in shares of American Vanguard by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 28,650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 9,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Vanguard in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. 79.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.