Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Rating Increased to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on ANDE. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Andersons from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark increased their price target on shares of Andersons from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $82.50.

Andersons Stock Performance

NASDAQ ANDE opened at $71.45 on Friday. Andersons has a 1 year low of $31.84 and a 1 year high of $82.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $71.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.81.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.42. Andersons had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.28%.

Insider Activity at Andersons

In other Andersons news, VP Anne G. Rex sold 2,624 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.16, for a total transaction of $170,979.84. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 23,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,552,697.64. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.30, for a total transaction of $175,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,647,902.30. This trade represents a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 95,765 shares of company stock worth $7,205,438 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANDE. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Andersons by 5.5% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Andersons by 4.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $834,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Andersons during the second quarter valued at about $257,000. XTX Topco Ltd purchased a new stake in Andersons during the second quarter valued at about $201,000. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Andersons during the second quarter valued at about $1,036,000. 87.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Andersons

The Andersons, Inc operates as a diversified agriculture company offering a broad range of products and services to farmers, retailers and industrial customers. Through its Grain Group, the company purchases, stores, merchandises and transports corn, soybeans and other commodities, while its Renewables Group produces ethanol and distillers grains at multiple plants in the U.S. The Rail Group provides locomotive leasing, railcar repair and related maintenance services, and the Horticulture Group supplies turf, specialty and horticultural products to landscaping professionals and consumer lawn and garden retailers.

Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Maumee, Ohio, The Andersons has grown from a regional grain elevator operator into an integrated agribusiness platform.