Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Sets New 1-Year High – Should You Buy?

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $56.47 and last traded at $56.35, with a volume of 923004 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $53.99.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ANDE shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Andersons from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $58.33.

Andersons Stock Up 4.4%

The business’s fifty day moving average price is $48.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.72. 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 capitalization of $1.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.33 and a beta of 0.79.

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

Andersons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Andersons’s payout ratio is 36.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Andersons

In other news, VP Anne G. Rex sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.36, for a total value 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 12,500 shares of Andersons stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 33,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,731,240.57. This represents a 27.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. increased its holdings in Andersons by 162.8% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 438,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,445,000 after buying an additional 271,451 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC purchased a new position in shares of Andersons in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,201,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Andersons by 262.8% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 273,377 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $10,047,000 after purchasing an additional 198,029 shares in the last quarter. Walnut Level Capital LLC acquired a new position in Andersons in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,989,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Andersons by 11.5% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,722,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,287,000 after purchasing an additional 176,972 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

Andersons Company Profile

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.