Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Shares Gap Up After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock had previously closed at $69.86, but opened at $76.81. Andersons shares last traded at $75.05, with a volume of 58,147 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.67. The business had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.28 billion. Andersons had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 1.17%.The firm’s revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.24 earnings per share.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Andersons’s payout ratio is 21.28%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on ANDE. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Andersons to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Monday, June 15th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Andersons from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Andersons in a research note on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Andersons presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $91.25.

Insider Transactions at Andersons

In related news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 3,534 shares of Andersons stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.53, for a total value of $284,593.02. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 74,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,029,683.75. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANDE. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Andersons during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Optima Capital LLC bought a new position in Andersons in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in Andersons in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Andersons by 33,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Andersons by 95.2% during the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Andersons Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.16 and a beta of 0.65.

About Andersons

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.