American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Short Interest Up 10.3% in December

American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) saw a significant increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 935,600 shares, an increase of 10.3% from the December 15th total of 848,300 shares. Approximately 3.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 321,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other American Vanguard news, Director Steven D. Macicek acquired 12,000 shares of American Vanguard stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was bought at an average price of $5.97 per share, with a total value of $71,640.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 31,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $186,371.46. This represents a 62.44 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 10.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of American Vanguard

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Point72 DIFC Ltd increased its position in American Vanguard by 195.7% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 DIFC Ltd now owns 5,080 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after buying an additional 3,362 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of American Vanguard during the third quarter valued at about $56,000. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of American Vanguard by 64.5% during the third quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,291 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 4,429 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of American Vanguard in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $89,000. Finally, Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in American Vanguard in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $158,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.04% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com raised American Vanguard from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $16.67.

American Vanguard Stock Up 1.1 %

NYSE:AVD traded up $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $5.08. 344,848 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 304,015. The business has a 50-day moving average of $5.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $6.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.89. American Vanguard has a 12-month low of $4.26 and a 12-month high of $14.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $146.17 million, a PE ratio of -4.93 and a beta of 0.91.

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.