Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Reaches New 52-Week High – Here’s What Happened

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $74.10 and last traded at $73.80, with a volume of 97967 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.41.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ANDE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Andersons in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.33.

Andersons Trading Up 1.3%

The stock has a market cap of $2.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.48 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $55.69.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.48. Andersons had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 0.87%.The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.31 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 1st. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Andersons

In related news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.41, for a total transaction of $1,056,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 159,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,256,798.75. This represents a 8.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of Andersons stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was 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 $1,647,902.30. This represents a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,299 shares of company stock worth $2,051,771. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Optimize Financial Inc raised its position in shares of Andersons by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 14,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Andersons by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 962 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Andersons by 34.8% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,000 after acquiring an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Andersons by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC raised 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 worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares during the period. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.