The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) was the target of a large growth in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 764,400 shares, a growth of 11.8% from the March 31st total of 683,800 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 177,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.3 days.

Andersons Stock Up 0.6 %

ANDE opened at $57.27 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $55.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.73. Andersons has a 1-year low of $35.69 and a 1-year high of $61.46. The stock has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a PE ratio of 19.48 and a beta of 0.68.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.11 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $3.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.26 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 8.19%. Andersons’s quarterly revenue was down 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Andersons will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.19 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.76 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.33%. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ANDE shares. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Andersons in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Andersons from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, Andersons currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $62.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Andersons news, CEO Patrick E. Bowe sold 1,338 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $73,750.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,923,042.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Andersons news, CEO Patrick E. Bowe sold 2,623 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.22, for a total transaction of $144,842.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 90,653 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,005,858.66. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Patrick E. Bowe sold 1,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $73,750.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,315 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,923,042.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 45,245 shares of company stock valued at $2,534,099. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,971,447 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $204,569,000 after buying an additional 47,494 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Andersons by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,818,680 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $162,189,000 after purchasing an additional 46,203 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Andersons by 64.5% in the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,314,734 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $133,190,000 after purchasing an additional 907,734 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Andersons by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 683,933 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,354,000 after purchasing an additional 18,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Andersons by 68.2% during the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 412,868 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $21,267,000 after purchasing an additional 167,473 shares during the period. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.