Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in Avanos Medical, Inc. $AVNS

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS) by 26.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 434,661 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 89,630 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned 0.94% of Avanos Medical worth $5,025,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Avanos Medical by 969.3% during the 2nd quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 2,545 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 2,307 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Avanos Medical by 49.7% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 2,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 894 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in Avanos Medical by 433.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,000 after purchasing an additional 5,083 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new position in Avanos Medical in the 2nd quarter valued at about $126,000. Finally, Inscription Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Avanos Medical in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $135,000. 95.17% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on AVNS. Zacks Research raised shares of Avanos Medical from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d-)” rating on shares of Avanos Medical in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Avanos Medical from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, November 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Reduce”.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kerr Holbrook sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $11.00, for a total value of $165,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 83,860 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $922,460. This trade represents a 15.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.64% of the company’s stock.

Avanos Medical Stock Up 5.3%

NYSE:AVNS opened at $14.58 on Monday. Avanos Medical, Inc. has a 52 week low of $9.30 and a 52 week high of $16.94. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $12.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $11.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $676.80 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1.43 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a quick ratio of 1.36, a current ratio of 2.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12.

About Avanos Medical

Avanos Medical is a global medical technology company that develops and markets a broad portfolio of medical devices intended to improve patient outcomes in hospital, outpatient and post-acute care settings. The company’s products focus on three core therapy areas—pain management, enteral feeding and respiratory care—designed to help clinicians manage post-operative pain, deliver nutrition support and assist breathing for patients across a variety of acute and chronic conditions.

In its pain management segment, Avanos offers both non-opioid drug delivery systems and cryoanalgesia devices, including ambulatory infusion pumps and cooled radiofrequency ablation platforms.