Ag Growth International (TSE:AFN) Trading Down 11.2% on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Ag Growth International Inc. (TSE:AFN) dropped 11.2% on Tuesday after National Bankshares lowered their price target on the stock from C$82.00 to C$77.00. National Bankshares currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Ag Growth International traded as low as C$52.82 and last traded at C$54.51. Approximately 84,338 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 113% from the average daily volume of 39,672 shares. The stock had previously closed at C$61.39.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on AFN. Raymond James raised their target price on Ag Growth International from C$64.00 to C$72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. ATB Capital reduced their price objective on Ag Growth International from C$85.00 to C$81.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Ag Growth International from C$88.00 to C$75.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Ag Growth International from C$75.00 to C$80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, March 8th. Finally, Desjardins lowered their price objective on shares of Ag Growth International from C$86.00 to C$78.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of C$78.22.

Ag Growth International Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 285.22, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of C$960.01 million, a P/E ratio of 14.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 2.32. The business has a fifty day moving average of C$60.75 and a 200-day moving average of C$55.35.

Ag Growth International (TSE:AFN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 5th. The company reported C$1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.08 by C$0.62. The company had revenue of C$379.32 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$414.68 million. Ag Growth International had a return on equity of 23.61% and a net margin of 4.51%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ag Growth International Inc. will post 5.9042146 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ag Growth International Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. Ag Growth International’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 17.44%.

About Ag Growth International

Ag Growth International Inc, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and sells equipment for the agriculture industry in Canada, the United States, and internationally. It operates through Farm and Commercial segments. The company offers grain, bolted, hopper, and smooth wall bins; temporary storage; unloads and sweeps systems; water tanks; secondary containment systems; fuel tanks; and storage accessories, as well as mixed flow dryers; fans and heaters; aeration products; vents and exhausters; and stirring systems.