Shares of two ethanol producers that recently went public fell to record levels Wednesday, after a third ethanol company announced it was delaying its initial public offering.

Shares of Aventine Renewable Energy Holdings Inc. were down $1.09, or 4.9 percent, to $21.29 in afternoon trading at more than twice its average daily volume on the New York Stock Exchange, after bottoming out at $19.85 earlier in the day, the second consecutive session it hit a low.

Pekin, Ill.-based Aventine had previously traded between $22.30 and $42.50 since going public in June.

Meanwhile, shares of Sioux Falls, S.D.-based Verasun Energy Corp. were down 75 cents, or 4.2 percent, to $17 in heavy trading on the NYSE, after falling to $16.32 earlier.

The drop eclipsed the nation's second-largest ethanol producer's previous low of $17.71 set on Sept. 13, after going public in June.

On Monday, Hawkeye Holdings Inc., which was scheduled to sell as much as $366 million in common shares on the NYSE through an initial public offering later this week, said it had temporarily delayed the offering because of market conditions.

The price of oil has dropped in recent weeks, falling to $60.46 per barrel Wednesday on the New York Mercantile Exchange, making alternative fuel less attractive to consumers.

Two other companies have also announced plans to go public, but have yet to set dates for their offerings.

Elsewhere in the sector, shares of other ethanol-producing companies rose along with much of the rest of the stock market.

MGP Ingredients Inc. was up 60 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $24.01 and Pacific Ethanol Inc. rose 30 cents, or 2 percent, to $15.58, both on the Nasdaq. Meanwhile, Archer-Daniels-Midland Co. was up 16 cents to $38.64 on the NYSE.