Patrick Gottschalk Acquires 20,000 Shares of American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) Stock

American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) Director Patrick Gottschalk bought 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $2.92 per share, for a total transaction of $58,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 146,705 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $428,378.60. This trade represents a 15.78% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

American Vanguard Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE:AVD traded down $0.04 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $2.67. 159,627 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 291,930. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.39, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.41. American Vanguard Corporation has a 1-year low of $2.05 and a 1-year high of $5.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $2.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $3.97. The firm has a market cap of $76.29 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.68 and a beta of 1.48.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The basic materials company reported ($0.14) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $123.57 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $120.00 million. American Vanguard had a negative net margin of 8.71% and a negative return on equity of 4.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of American Vanguard from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, American Vanguard currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Vanguard

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AVD. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in American Vanguard by 117.8% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,921,000 after acquiring an additional 236,212 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in American Vanguard by 287.6% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 40,509 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $178,000 after buying an additional 30,058 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in American Vanguard by 1,732.4% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 58,234 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $253,000 after buying an additional 55,056 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in American Vanguard in the 1st quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in American Vanguard by 2.2% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 639,301 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,506,000 after buying an additional 13,657 shares during the last quarter. 79.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.