AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX – Get Free Report) and American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD – Get Free Report) are both small-cap basic materials companies, but which is the better stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, valuation, dividends, institutional ownership and earnings.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a breakdown of recent ratings and price targets for AdvanSix and American Vanguard, as provided by MarketBeat.com.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| AdvanSix | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
| American Vanguard | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3.00 |
AdvanSix currently has a consensus target price of $33.50, indicating a potential upside of 76.48%. American Vanguard has a consensus target price of $12.00, indicating a potential upside of 120.18%. Given American Vanguard’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe American Vanguard is more favorable than AdvanSix.
Risk and Volatility
Institutional and Insider Ownership
86.4% of AdvanSix shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 79.0% of American Vanguard shares are held by institutional investors. 5.6% of AdvanSix shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 7.6% of American Vanguard shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.
Profitability
This table compares AdvanSix and American Vanguard’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| AdvanSix | 5.10% | 10.02% | 4.97% |
| American Vanguard | -23.72% | -26.21% | -9.97% |
Valuation & Earnings
This table compares AdvanSix and American Vanguard”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| AdvanSix | $1.52 billion | 0.34 | $44.15 million | $2.84 | 6.68 |
| American Vanguard | $547.31 million | 0.28 | -$126.34 million | ($4.47) | -1.22 |
AdvanSix has higher revenue and earnings than American Vanguard. American Vanguard is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than AdvanSix, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Summary
AdvanSix beats American Vanguard on 10 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.
About AdvanSix
AdvanSix Inc. engages in the manufacture and sale of polymer resins in the United States and internationally. It offers Nylon 6, a polymer resin, which is a synthetic material used to produce fibers, filaments, engineered plastics, and films. The company also provides caprolactam to manufacture polymer resins; ammonium sulfate fertilizers to distributors, farm cooperatives, and retailers; and acetone that are used in the production of adhesives, paints, coatings, solvents, herbicides, and engineered plastic resins, as well as other intermediate chemicals, including phenol, monoisopropylamine, dipropylamine, monoallylamine, alpha-methylstyrene, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketoxime, acetaldehyde oxime, 2-pentanone oxime, cyclohexanol, sulfuric acid, ammonia, and carbon dioxide. It offers its products under the Aegis, Capran, Sulf-N, Nadone, Naxol, and EZ-Blox brands. The company sells its products directly, as well as through distributors. AdvanSix Inc. was incorporated in 2016 and is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.
About American Vanguard
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. The company also markets, sells, and distributes end-use chemical and biological products for crop applications; and distributes chemicals for turf and ornamental markets. It distributes its products through national distribution companies, and buying groups or co-operatives; and through sales offices, sales force executives, sales agents, and wholly owned distributors. American Vanguard Corporation was incorporated in 1969 and is headquartered in Newport Beach, California.
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