Adecoagro (NYSE:AGRO) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Adecoagro S.A. (NYSE:AGRO) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday following a dissappointing earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $13.49, but opened at $12.46. Adecoagro shares last traded at $12.7950, with a volume of 198,588 shares changing hands.

The company reported ($0.24) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.25 by ($0.49). The firm had revenue of $419.45 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $408.94 million. Adecoagro had a negative return on equity of 1.17% and a negative net margin of 0.55%.

Adecoagro Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 4th will be paid a $0.1213 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 4th. This represents a yield of 160.0%. Adecoagro’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -300.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Adecoagro from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, April 4th. Zacks Research cut Adecoagro from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings raised Adecoagro from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group raised shares of Adecoagro from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $8.00 to $16.20 in a report on Monday, March 30th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded shares of Adecoagro from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $13.00 to $15.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $11.53.

Insider Activity at Adecoagro

In other news, CEO Mariano Bosch sold 100,000 shares of Adecoagro stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $14.50, for a total transaction of $1,450,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 897,249 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,010,110.50. The trade was a 10.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 106,815 shares of company stock worth $1,540,799 in the last 90 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Adecoagro by 86.5% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 458,693 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,192,000 after buying an additional 212,685 shares during the period. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Adecoagro in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,987,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Adecoagro by 32.3% during the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 370,391 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,385,000 after acquiring an additional 90,518 shares during the last quarter. HRT Financial LP increased its holdings in shares of Adecoagro by 13.4% in the 4th quarter. HRT Financial LP now owns 312,828 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,480,000 after acquiring an additional 36,857 shares during the period. Finally, Decker Retirement Planning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Adecoagro in the 1st quarter valued at $4,629,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.25% of the company’s stock.

Adecoagro Stock Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $12.98 and its 200 day moving average is $9.90. The stock has a market cap of $1.81 billion, a PE ratio of -158.92 and a beta of -0.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 1.38.

About Adecoagro

Adecoagro (NYSE: AGRO) is a leading agricultural and renewable energy company with core operations in South America. Founded in 2002 by Argentine entrepreneur Alejandro Bulgheroni, the company has grown into a vertically integrated platform covering crop production, sugar and ethanol manufacturing, and dairy operations. Adecoagro’s business model spans the full value chain, from seed selection and planting through harvesting, processing and distribution of commodities.

The company manages over 700,000 hectares of farmland across Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay.