Insider Buying: Ag Growth International (TSE:AFN) Director Buys 8,000 Shares of Stock

Ag Growth International Inc. (TSE:AFN) Director Steven Robert Sommerfeld acquired 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 26th. The stock was bought at an average price of C$17.67 per share, with a total value of C$141,360.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at C$141,360. This trade represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock.

Ag Growth International Stock Up 0.8%

Ag Growth International stock traded up C$0.15 during trading hours on Friday, hitting C$17.95. 195,124 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 147,702. Ag Growth International Inc. has a one year low of C$13.60 and a one year high of C$44.84. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is C$27.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$29.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 408.06. The company has a market cap of C$337.62 million, a PE ratio of -37.40, a PEG ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.52.

Ag Growth International (TSE:AFN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, March 25th. The company reported C($2.62) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of C$395.77 million during the quarter. Ag Growth International had a negative return on equity of 9.21% and a negative net margin of 1.86%. On average, research analysts forecast that Ag Growth International Inc. will post 6.5761006 EPS for the current year.

Ag Growth International News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Ag Growth International this week:

• Positive Sentiment: TD Securities kept a “buy” on AFN while cutting its price target to C$22 (still implying upside), which provides some buy-side support amid otherwise negative revisions. TD keeps buy, lowers PT to C$22
• Neutral Sentiment: Conflicting coverage from ATB Cormark: The Globe and Mail reports ATB assigned a “buy” to AFN, while other wires say ATB lowered its rating — this mixed messaging is creating short-term ambiguity for traders. Globe: ATB gives buy AMBN: ATB rating lowered
• Negative Sentiment: Raymond James downgraded AFN to “hold” and has cut its price target (recently to C$25 and earlier to C$30/C$52 revisions), signaling reduced conviction and weighing on investor sentiment. Raymond James downgrades to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: National Bank Financial downgraded AFN from “outperform” to “hold” and cut its target to C$24, removing a prior source of bullish support. National Bank downgrades to Hold
• Negative Sentiment: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce slashed its price target to C$18 (now near the trading level), a direct negative for upside expectations. CIBC cuts PT to C$18
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple recent downgrades and target cuts (Raymond James, National Bank, CIBC and others) have come after weak quarterly results (recent EPS loss and negative margins) and highlight ongoing concerns about profitability and leverage, which helps explain the stock’s downtrend before today’s slight uptick. Small caps to watch: Ag Growth sinks

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on AFN. ATB Cormark Capital Markets lowered Ag Growth International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “moderate buy” rating and set a C$36.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their target price on shares of Ag Growth International from C$25.00 to C$30.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Cormark set a C$35.00 price target on shares of Ag Growth International and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce decreased their price target on shares of Ag Growth International from C$32.00 to C$18.00 in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial dropped their price objective on shares of Ag Growth International from C$30.00 to C$25.00 in a research note on Thursday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ag Growth International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of C$28.75.

Ag Growth International Company Profile

Ag Growth International Inc manufactures portable and stationary grain handling, storage, and conditioning equipment, including augers, belt conveyors, grain storage bins, grain handling accessories, grain aeration equipment, and grain drying systems. The company operates mainly in Portable handling, permanent handling, storage and conditioning, livestock, and manufacturing sectors. Some of its brands are batco, wheatheart, westfield, storm, rem, hi roller, union iron, hsi, tramco, ptm, vis, nuvision, twister, grain guard, airlanco, westeel, frame, and entringer.