Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Issues Earnings Results

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) announced its earnings results on Tuesday. The basic materials company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.42, Zacks reports. The business had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.71 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.55%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.12 EPS.

Andersons Trading Down 13.9%

ANDE stock opened at $68.23 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.60. Andersons has a 1-year low of $31.03 and a 1-year high of $82.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $60.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.15 and a beta of 0.69.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Andersons’s payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Andersons has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.33.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.30, for a total value of $175,750.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 23,441 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,647,902.30. The trade was a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 16,466 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $1,329,794.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 78,409 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,332,310.84. This represents a 17.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 95,765 shares of company stock worth $7,205,438 over the last quarter. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ANDE. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Andersons by 18.2% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 602,808 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,051,000 after acquiring an additional 92,988 shares in the last quarter. Summit Global Investments increased its stake in shares of Andersons by 108.4% during the fourth quarter. Summit Global Investments now owns 25,712 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,367,000 after buying an additional 13,372 shares during the period. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Andersons in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Andersons during the 4th quarter worth about $6,729,000. Finally, Susquehanna Portfolio Strategies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Andersons in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,624,000. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.