Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $525,000 in Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new stake in Avanos Medical, Inc. (NYSE:AVNS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 23,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $525,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Gladius Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Avanos Medical in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its position in shares of Avanos Medical by 52.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 9,627 shares of the company’s stock valued at $195,000 after buying an additional 3,330 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. acquired a new stake in Avanos Medical in the 4th quarter valued at $228,000. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Avanos Medical in the 3rd quarter worth $237,000. Finally, Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Avanos Medical during the third quarter worth $281,000. 95.17% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Avanos Medical Stock Performance

NYSE AVNS opened at $18.62 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.13, a current ratio of 2.08 and a quick ratio of 1.38. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $19.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $19.90. The company has a market cap of $860.07 million, a PE ratio of -14.10 and a beta of 0.96. Avanos Medical, Inc. has a 1-year low of $17.24 and a 1-year high of $30.26.

Avanos Medical (NYSE:AVNS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The company reported $0.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). Avanos Medical had a negative net margin of 8.76% and a positive return on equity of 4.25%. The firm had revenue of $173.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $170.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Avanos Medical, Inc. will post 1.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Avanos Medical from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th.

Insider Transactions at Avanos Medical

In related news, CFO Michael Greiner sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $19.12, for a total transaction of $152,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 151,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,584.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 2.90% of the company’s stock.

About Avanos Medical

Avanos Medical, Inc, a medical technology company, offers medical device solutions in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and Latin America. It offers a portfolio of chronic care products that include digestive health products, such as Mic-Key enteral feeding tubes, Corpak patient feeding solutions, and NeoMed neonatal and pediatric feeding solutions.