Insider Buying: American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD) Director Purchases $334,800.00 in Stock

American Vanguard Co. (NYSE:AVD – Get Rating) Director Patrick E. Gottschalk purchased 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 15th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $16.74 per share, for a total transaction of $334,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 33,231 shares in the company, valued at approximately $556,286.94. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

American Vanguard Stock Performance

Shares of AVD stock opened at $17.00 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $500.06 million, a PE ratio of 25.37 and a beta of 0.93. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $20.04 and a 200-day simple moving average of $21.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.83, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. American Vanguard Co. has a 52-week low of $15.01 and a 52-week high of $25.99.

American Vanguard (NYSE:AVD – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 13th. The basic materials company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $159.98 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $159.10 million. American Vanguard had a return on equity of 5.20% and a net margin of 3.31%. On average, equities analysts expect that American Vanguard Co. will post 1.13 EPS for the current year.

American Vanguard Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 24th were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 23rd. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. American Vanguard’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 17.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com downgraded American Vanguard from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On American Vanguard

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in American Vanguard by 10.9% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 59,735 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,308,000 after purchasing an additional 5,890 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Vanguard by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 522,890 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,441,000 after purchasing an additional 12,278 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P. acquired a new position in American Vanguard in the 1st quarter worth about $208,000. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in American Vanguard by 7.2% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 127,408 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,788,000 after purchasing an additional 8,606 shares during the period. Finally, Lido Advisors LLC raised its holdings in American Vanguard by 26.5% in the 1st quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 22,966 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $502,000 after purchasing an additional 4,812 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.45% of the company’s stock.

About American Vanguard

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American Vanguard Corp. is a holding company engaged in the development and marketing of specialty and agricultural products for crop protection and management, turf and ornamentals management, and public and animal health. It also acquires and licenses both new and well-established product lines that serve numerous market niches.