AdvanSix Inc. (NYSE:ASIX) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

AdvanSix Inc. (NYSE:ASIX) saw a large increase in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 325,200 shares, an increase of 12.3% from the May 31st total of 289,500 shares. Approximately 1.3% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 133,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $40.00 target price on shares of AdvanSix in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Achilles B. Kintiroglou sold 3,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $25.23, for a total transaction of $92,367.03. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $891,502.05. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Achilles B. Kintiroglou sold 3,661 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $25.23, for a total transaction of $92,367.03. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 35,335 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $891,502.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Erin N. Kane sold 3,002 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.08, for a total value of $84,296.16. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,755 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,521,360.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,013 shares of company stock valued at $184,713. 5.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AdvanSix

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in AdvanSix by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,579,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,271,000 after purchasing an additional 401,322 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of AdvanSix by 12.8% in the 1st quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 459,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,145,000 after buying an additional 52,200 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of AdvanSix by 9.2% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,035,000 after buying an additional 38,083 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of AdvanSix by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 437,393 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,104,000 after acquiring an additional 24,543 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of AdvanSix by 39.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 183,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,498,000 after acquiring an additional 52,199 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.39% of the company’s stock.

AdvanSix Price Performance

AdvanSix stock traded down $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $22.15. 46,649 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 146,318. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $23.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.13. The company has a market cap of $594.06 million, a P/E ratio of 738.25 and a beta of 1.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 0.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. AdvanSix has a twelve month low of $21.55 and a twelve month high of $40.85.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported ($0.63) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by ($0.02). The firm had revenue of $336.83 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $344.63 million. AdvanSix had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 0.06%. Equities analysts expect that AdvanSix will post 1.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AdvanSix Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, May 28th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were given a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 13th. AdvanSix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2,134.04%.

About AdvanSix

AdvanSix Inc engages in the manufacture and sale of polymer resins in the United States and internationally. It offers Nylon 6, a polymer resin, which is a synthetic material used to produce fibers, filaments, engineered plastics, and films. The company also provides caprolactam to manufacture polymer resins; ammonium sulfate fertilizers to distributors, farm cooperatives, and retailers; and acetone that are used in the production of adhesives, paints, coatings, solvents, herbicides, and engineered plastic resins, as well as other intermediate chemicals, including phenol, monoisopropylamine, dipropylamine, monoallylamine, alpha-methylstyrene, cyclohexanone, methyl ethyl ketoxime, acetaldehyde oxime, 2-pentanone oxime, cyclohexanol, sulfuric acid, ammonia, and carbon dioxide.