Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Shares Up 5.3% – Still a Buy?

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE)’s share price was up 5.3% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $44.26 and last traded at $44.13. Approximately 36,411 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 205,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on ANDE shares. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Andersons Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $42.40 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.24. The company has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.48.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.34. Andersons had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 7.59%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. As a group, analysts forecast that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Andersons’s payout ratio is 23.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Andersons news, VP Weston Heide sold 800 shares of Andersons stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $38,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 16,104 shares in the company, valued at $772,992. The trade was a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of ANDE. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Andersons by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 488,505 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,494,000 after buying an additional 31,881 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its position in Andersons by 84.2% in the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 16,120 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 7,369 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Andersons by 375.0% during the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 42,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,117,000 after purchasing an additional 33,336 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Andersons by 23.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 652,579 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $32,720,000 after purchasing an additional 124,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons during the third quarter worth approximately $98,000. 87.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Andersons

The Andersons, Inc operates in trade, renewables, and nutrient and industrial sectors in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Egypt, Switzerland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Trade, Renewables, and Nutrient & Industrial. The company’s Trade segment operates grain elevators; stores commodities; and provides grain marketing, risk management, and origination services, as well as sells commodities, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, ethanol, and corn oil.