Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $1.76 Million Stock Position in AdvanSix Inc. (NYSE:ASIX)

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in AdvanSix Inc. (NYSE:ASIX) by 43.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,729 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 18,723 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in AdvanSix were worth $1,758,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ASIX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in AdvanSix by 14.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 104,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,177,000 after acquiring an additional 13,316 shares during the period. Sheets Smith Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of AdvanSix by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 15,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of AdvanSix by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,628 shares of the company’s stock worth $445,000 after purchasing an additional 387 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AdvanSix during the 4th quarter worth about $1,403,000. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of AdvanSix during the 4th quarter worth about $223,000. 86.39% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

AdvanSix Price Performance

Shares of ASIX stock opened at $23.49 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $21.93 and its 200-day moving average is $27.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 1.08. AdvanSix Inc. has a 52 week low of $18.44 and a 52 week high of $33.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $629.70 million, a PE ratio of 14.59 and a beta of 1.59.

AdvanSix (NYSE:ASIX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 21st. The company reported $0.03 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.37) by $0.40. AdvanSix had a net margin of 2.91% and a return on equity of 6.26%. The firm had revenue of $329.06 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $377.15 million. Equities research analysts expect that AdvanSix Inc. will post 4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AdvanSix Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 27th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a $0.16 dividend. This represents a $0.64 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. AdvanSix’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.51%.

Insider Activity at AdvanSix

In related news, SVP Achilles B. Kintiroglou sold 4,000 shares of AdvanSix stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $22.24, for a total value of $88,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 36,363 shares in the company, valued at $808,713.12. This trade represents a 9.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ASIX. UBS Group set a $35.00 price target on shares of AdvanSix in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. StockNews.com cut shares of AdvanSix from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Finally, Piper Sandler lowered AdvanSix from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $35.00 to $26.00 in a research report on Monday, April 7th.

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.