Hello Friends! Thanks again for stopping by. We had a nice day in the market today with both the Dow and the NASDAQ up sharply. Our stocks participated and my trading portfolio gained almost 2K in value. Now, if we could just do that every week! That portfolio stands at 24 positions....so we have room for one more...but I would like to wait to SELL something, either on a loss or gains before adding any positions...let me see if I can excercise some self-control!
Earlier today, I came across American Vanguard (AVD) on the list of greatest % gainers. I do not own any shares of this issue, it is in a business I really do not fully understand, but it appears to deserve a spot on our list. AVD closed today at $38.69 up $3.49 or 9.91% on the day. According to money.cnn.com, AVD "...through its subsidiaries, is a specialty chemical manufacturer that develops and markets products for agricultural and commercial uses. The Company also acts as a chemical distributor and an environmental consulting firm."
On November 13, 2003, AVD reported results for their third quarter ended September 30, 2003. This was posted on Yahoo.com from a story on BUSINESS WIRE. Net sales increased 10% to $32.9 million. Net income rose 45% to $2.8 million or $.45/diluted share vs $.30/diluted share the prior year.
Looking at Morningstar.com for a bit longer history on the stock, we find that revenues were $67 million in 1998, $69 million in 1999, $75 million in 2000, $83 million in 2001, $101 million in 2002 and $115 million in the trailing twelve months. Extrapolating the current quarter gives us a bit over $120 million/year revenue rate.
Earnings/share have grown CONSISTENTLY during this period from $.39/share in 1998 to $1.32/share in the trailing twelve months. The "free cash flow" however has been a bit erratic with $(2) million in 2000, $9 million in 2001, $0 million in 2002 and $3 million in the trailing twelve months.
Looking at the Morningstar.com balance sheet, we find that AVD has $300,000 in cash but $54.3 million in other current assets, enough to more than cover the $27 million in current liabilities and $24.1 million in long-term liabilities.
"Key Statistics" on Yahoo.com shows a market cap of $230.52 million. The P/E isn't bad at 26.11 and the PEG however isn't available. Price/sales is 1.78 but Price/book is a bit rich at 4.60. There are only 5.96 million shares outstanding and 3.50 million of them that float. There are only 54,000 shares out short, but for this small company, this represents 1.54% of the float and 7.714 trading days as of 12/8/03.
This company DOES pay a small dividend of $.10/share yielding 0.26%. A 3:2 split was last carried out on April, 14, 2003.
This is an interesting, but small company. The numbers are right, the value isn't bad, and if you are looking for a small chemical firm this might be right for you! As for me, I will pass and wait for a sale of stock before extending my margin!
Thanks again for stopping by! If you have any questions, comments, or words of encouragement, please feel free to post on the website or email me at bobsadviceforstocks@lycos.com
Bob