Essex Investment Management Co. LLC Purchases Shares of 372,064 American Vanguard Corporation $AVD

Essex Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new stake in American Vanguard Corporation (NYSE:AVD) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 372,064 shares of the basic materials company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,136,000. Essex Investment Management Co. LLC owned 1.31% of American Vanguard at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AVD. Curi Capital LLC lifted its stake in American Vanguard by 1,285.5% in the 2nd quarter. Curi Capital LLC now owns 289,573 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 268,673 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in American Vanguard by 371.1% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 303,179 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,188,000 after buying an additional 238,822 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its stake in American Vanguard by 117.8% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 436,687 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,921,000 after buying an additional 236,212 shares during the period. EVR Research LP acquired a new stake in shares of American Vanguard in the second quarter valued at approximately $564,000. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of American Vanguard by 59.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 248,162 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $973,000 after acquiring an additional 92,807 shares during the period. 79.00% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (e+)” rating on shares of American Vanguard in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of American Vanguard from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, November 15th. 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, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $12.00.

American Vanguard Stock Performance

NYSE:AVD opened at $4.99 on Wednesday. American Vanguard Corporation has a twelve month low of $3.28 and a twelve month high of $5.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.82. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $4.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $4.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.06 million, a PE ratio of -1.25 and a beta of 1.24.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The basic materials company reported ($0.18) earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.08) by ($0.10). The company had revenue of $119.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $163.00 million. American Vanguard had a negative net margin of 21.15% and a negative return on equity of 23.15%.

American Vanguard 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.