Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE)’s share price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $59.14 and last traded at $58.8690, with a volume of 80194 shares. The stock had previously closed at $57.85.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Andersons Trading Up 3.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.02 billion, a PE ratio of 27.91 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $52.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $44.94.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Andersons had a return on equity of 5.83% and a net margin of 0.63%.The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.80 earnings per share. Andersons’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current 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 paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Andersons news, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 12,500 shares of the 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 directly owned 33,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,731,240.57. This trade represents a 27.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Anne G. Rex sold 3,000 shares of Andersons 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 transaction, the vice president owned 23,549 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,476.64. This represents a 11.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 20,500 shares of company stock worth $1,076,205. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Andersons by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 962 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Andersons by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its position in shares of Andersons by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $379,000 after buying an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Andersons by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $624,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Andersons by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares during the period. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.