AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) Shares Down 8.8% – Here’s Why

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX)’s share price fell 8.8% during trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $21.63 and last traded at $21.6150. 121,737 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 439,208 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.70.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ASIX has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Loop Capital set a $25.00 price target on AdvanSix in a research note on Thursday, March 12th. Weiss Ratings lowered AdvanSix from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded AdvanSix from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, April 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on AdvanSix from $19.00 to $20.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.67.

AdvanSix Trading Down 9.3%

The stock has a market cap of $577.74 million, a PE ratio of 11.88 and a beta of 1.43. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $20.93 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $18.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 1.13 and a quick ratio of 0.52.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 20th. The company reported $0.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.06) by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $359.95 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $340.85 million. AdvanSix had a return on equity of 6.97% and a net margin of 3.24%. Sell-side analysts forecast that AdvanSix will post 4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AdvanSix Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. AdvanSix’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.36%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASIX. Aegis Financial Corp purchased a new position in AdvanSix in the fourth quarter worth about $20,927,000. Millennium Management LLC purchased a new position in AdvanSix in the fourth quarter worth about $11,479,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its position in AdvanSix by 55.3% in 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. Invenomic Capital Management LP purchased a new position in AdvanSix in the third quarter worth about $6,054,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in AdvanSix by 149.3% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 378,610 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,550,000 after acquiring an additional 226,756 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.39% of the company’s stock.

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.