AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) Shares Gap Down – What’s Next?

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $22.33, but opened at $21.32. AdvanSix shares last traded at $21.3890, with a volume of 4,210 shares trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ASIX. Zacks Research raised AdvanSix to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Wall Street Zen downgraded AdvanSix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. Loop Capital set a $25.00 price target on shares of AdvanSix in a research report on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of AdvanSix from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of AdvanSix from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, AdvanSix currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and an average target price of $22.50.

AdvanSix Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $22.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $19.97. The stock has a market cap of $533.78 million, a P/E ratio of 53.51 and a beta of 1.28.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The company reported ($0.50) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.48) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $404.18 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $364.90 million. AdvanSix had a net margin of 0.67% and a return on equity of 2.18%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that AdvanSix will post 0.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AdvanSix Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 19th were paid a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 19th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. AdvanSix’s payout ratio is presently 172.97%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of AdvanSix in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $6,054,000. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in AdvanSix by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 967,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,752,000 after buying an additional 81,927 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in AdvanSix by 1,145.9% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 67,812 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 62,369 shares during the period. Lumbard & Kellner LLC bought a new stake in AdvanSix in the fourth quarter worth $2,511,000. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its position in AdvanSix by 380.7% in the fourth quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 67,250 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 53,261 shares during the last quarter. 86.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About AdvanSix

AdvanSix, Inc (NYSE: ASIX) is an integrated chemical manufacturer specializing in the production of nylon 6 intermediates and related co‐products. Established as a publicly traded spin‐off from Honeywell Specialty Chemicals in June 2016, the company is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

The company’s principal product is caprolactam, the key building block for nylon 6 resin, used in fibers and engineering plastics across industries. In addition to caprolactam and nylon 6 resin, AdvanSix produces ammonium sulfate fertilizer and industrial chemicals such as phenol and acetone.