AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) Short Interest Update

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 780,595 shares, an increase of 37.6% from the February 26th total of 567,388 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 625,830 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.2 days. Approximately 3.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ASIX has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of AdvanSix from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 25th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of AdvanSix from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of AdvanSix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Finally, Loop Capital set a $25.00 target price on AdvanSix in a report on Thursday, March 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AdvanSix has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $25.67.

AdvanSix Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE ASIX opened at $24.13 on Tuesday. AdvanSix has a 52 week low of $14.10 and a 52 week high of $25.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 1.13. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.00 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $18.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $648.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.33 and a beta of 1.66.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.06) by $0.09. AdvanSix had a net margin of 3.24% and a return on equity of 6.97%. The company had revenue of $359.95 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $340.85 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that AdvanSix will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AdvanSix Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Investors of record on Monday, March 9th were given a $0.16 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. AdvanSix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.36%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AdvanSix

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ASIX. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of AdvanSix by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,990,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $38,566,000 after buying an additional 10,642 shares during the last quarter. Aegis Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of AdvanSix in the fourth quarter valued at about $20,927,000. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of AdvanSix by 9.3% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 967,571 shares of the company’s stock valued at $18,752,000 after acquiring an additional 81,927 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in AdvanSix by 55.3% during the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 948,491 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,382,000 after acquiring an additional 337,908 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in AdvanSix by 23.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 711,634 shares of the company’s stock worth $12,311,000 after acquiring an additional 135,650 shares in the last quarter. 86.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AdvanSix

AdvanSix, Inc (NYSE: ASIX) is an integrated chemical manufacturer specializing in the production of nylon 6 intermediates and related co‐products. Established as a publicly traded spin‐off from Honeywell Specialty Chemicals in June 2016, the company is headquartered in Parsippany, New Jersey.

The company’s principal product is caprolactam, the key building block for nylon 6 resin, used in fibers and engineering plastics across industries. In addition to caprolactam and nylon 6 resin, AdvanSix produces ammonium sulfate fertilizer and industrial chemicals such as phenol and acetone.