AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) Shares Down 8.8% - Here's Why

Key Points

• Shares fell 8.8% to about $21.62 on Friday, with intraday volume of 121,737 shares—down roughly 72% from the average session volume.
• AdvanSix beat quarterly estimates, reporting $0.03 EPS vs. a ($0.06) consensus and $359.95M revenue, and pays a $0.16 quarterly dividend (3.0% yield).
• Analysts are mixed—consensus rating is Hold with an average target of $25.67—while institutional ownership is high (86.4%) and several firms (Aegis, Millennium, Goldman Sachs) recently built or increased positions.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX - Get Free Report)'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 - Get Free Report) 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.