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

AdvanSix Inc. (NYSE:ASIX - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 299,500 shares, an increase of 15.8% from the October 31st total of 258,700 shares. Approximately 1.2% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 129,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.3 days.

AdvanSix Price Performance

Shares of ASIX traded up $0.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.47. 102,755 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,212. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.28. AdvanSix has a fifty-two week low of $20.86 and a fifty-two week high of $32.65. The company has a market cap of $867.92 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.03 and a beta of 1.69. The firm's fifty day moving average is $30.26 and its 200 day moving average is $27.32.

AdvanSix Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, November 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th were given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, November 12th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. AdvanSix's dividend payout ratio is currently 45.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Christopher Gramm sold 2,435 shares of AdvanSix stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.00, for a total transaction of $77,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 43,463 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,390,816. The trade was a 5.31 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Erin N. Kane sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.37, for a total value of $151,850.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,725,434.15. This trade represents a 0.96 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 15,369 shares of company stock worth $474,058. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On AdvanSix

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ASIX. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 86.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 565,982 shares of the company's stock worth $17,195,000 after purchasing an additional 261,964 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in AdvanSix by 48.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 469,685 shares of the company's stock worth $14,269,000 after buying an additional 153,686 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of AdvanSix by 33.0% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 611,077 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,006,000 after buying an additional 151,470 shares during the last quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. increased its stake in shares of AdvanSix by 45.2% in the second quarter. Deprince Race & Zollo Inc. now owns 259,824 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,955,000 after buying an additional 80,915 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of AdvanSix by 83.8% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 139,277 shares of the company's stock worth $3,192,000 after acquiring an additional 63,489 shares during the last quarter. 86.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com cut AdvanSix from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on AdvanSix from $35.00 to $39.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th.

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.

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