The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) have been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation and four have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $58.3333.

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ANDE shares. BMO Capital Markets raised Andersons from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on Andersons in a report on Wednesday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company.

Andersons Stock Performance

ANDE stock traded down $0.56 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $64.67. The company had a trading volume of 339,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 286,779. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market cap of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 30.22 and a beta of 0.77. Andersons has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $65.28. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $55.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.79.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.46 by $0.38. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.85 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 5.83%. Andersons’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Andersons will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This is an increase from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.38%.

Insider Activity at Andersons

In other Andersons news, VP Anne G. Rex sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.36, for a total transaction of $154,080.00. Following the sale, the vice president owned 23,549 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,476.64. This represents a 11.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 12,500 shares of Andersons stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.77, for a total value of $647,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 33,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,731,240.57. This trade represents a 27.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 20,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,076,205. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ANDE. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Andersons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $489,000. Strs Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Andersons during the 4th quarter valued at about $229,000. Horizon Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Andersons in the 4th quarter valued at $829,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Andersons by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 57,113 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,037,000 after buying an additional 1,292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp boosted its holdings in Andersons by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 41,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,192,000 after acquiring an additional 5,983 shares during the period. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Andersons Company Profile

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.