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

AdvanSix Inc. (NYSE:ASIX) saw a significant 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 shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 133,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Insider Transactions at AdvanSix

In related news, CEO Erin N. Kane sold 3,002 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $28.08, for a total transaction of $84,296.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,521,360.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Achilles B. Kintiroglou sold 3,661 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 35,335 shares in the company, valued at approximately $891,502.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Erin N. Kane sold 3,002 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 552,755 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,521,360.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,013 shares of company stock worth $184,713 over the last three months. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AdvanSix

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Caxton Associates LP acquired a new position in shares of AdvanSix in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $250,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd acquired a new position in shares of AdvanSix in the third quarter valued at approximately $204,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of AdvanSix by 12.5% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 148,621 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,619,000 after acquiring an additional 16,525 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 9.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 451,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,035,000 after acquiring an additional 38,083 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in AdvanSix in the 3rd quarter valued at $4,081,000. 86.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AdvanSix Price Performance

ASIX stock traded down $0.01 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $22.15. 46,649 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 146,318. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $23.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. AdvanSix has a 1-year low of $21.55 and a 1-year high of $40.85. The company has a market cap of $594.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 738.25 and a beta of 1.70.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The company reported ($0.63) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.61) by ($0.02). AdvanSix had a net margin of 0.15% and a return on equity of 0.06%. The business had revenue of $336.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $344.63 million. On average, analysts anticipate that AdvanSix will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

AdvanSix Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of AdvanSix in a report on Tuesday, April 9th.

AdvanSix Company Profile

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.