John Bryan Kitchen Acquires 7,595 Shares of Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT) Stock

Ascent Industries Co. (NASDAQ:ACNT) CEO John Bryan Kitchen bought 7,595 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.98 per share, for a total transaction of $98,583.10. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,038,205.30. The trade was a 10.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Ascent Industries Stock Down 0.4%

Ascent Industries stock opened at $12.69 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $16.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $14.47. The company has a quick ratio of 6.01, a current ratio of 6.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The firm has a market cap of $120.17 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 115.37 and a beta of 0.43. Ascent Industries Co. has a 52 week low of $11.46 and a 52 week high of $17.92.

Ascent Industries (NASDAQ:ACNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 3rd. The company reported ($0.11) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.27). Ascent Industries had a net margin of 1.06% and a negative return on equity of 2.89%. The company had revenue of $11.86 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $48.90 million.

Ascent Industries declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CWM LLC grew its stake in Ascent Industries by 66.8% in the 4th quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,585 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 635 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Ascent Industries by 114.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 1,937 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. acquired a new position in Ascent Industries during the third quarter worth $25,000. Police & Firemen s Retirement System of New Jersey purchased a new position in Ascent Industries during the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. purchased a new position in Ascent Industries during the second quarter valued at $55,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 26.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Ascent Industries from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Thursday, January 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Ascent Industries Company Profile

Ascent Industries Co an industrials company, produces and distributes stainless steel pipe and tube and specialty chemicals in the United States and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Tubular Products and Specialty Chemicals. It manufactures welded pipes and tubes, primarily from stainless steel, duplex, and nickel alloys; and ornamental stainless steel tubes for automotive, commercial transportation, marine, food services, construction, furniture, healthcare, and other industries.