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

Ascent Industries Co. (NASDAQ:ACNT) CEO John Bryan Kitchen acquired 7,595 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was bought at an average price of $12.98 per share, with a total value of $98,583.10. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 79,985 shares in the company, valued at $1,038,205.30. This represents a 10.49% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Ascent Industries Price Performance

NASDAQ:ACNT opened at $12.46 on Friday. Ascent Industries Co. has a 52-week low of $11.46 and a 52-week high of $17.92. The company has a market cap of $118.00 million, a P/E ratio of 113.28 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 6.01 and a current ratio of 6.72. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $15.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $14.44.

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

Ascent Industries announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 1.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ascent Industries

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bard Associates Inc. boosted its stake in Ascent Industries by 90.0% in the 3rd quarter. Bard Associates Inc. now owns 326,948 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,211,000 after purchasing an additional 154,888 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Ascent Industries by 91.9% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 194,433 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 93,125 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ascent Industries by 2,171.7% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 44,935 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,000 after buying an additional 42,957 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ascent Industries in the second quarter valued at about $492,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP bought a new stake in shares of Ascent Industries in the third quarter valued at about $366,000. Institutional investors own 26.05% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Ascent Industries from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold”.

About Ascent Industries

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.