Short Interest in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Expands By 9.1%

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 8,290,000 shares, an increase of 9.1% from the March 15th total of 7,600,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 6,510,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.3 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE:ADM traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $60.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,032,359 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,898,910. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 1 year low of $50.72 and a 1 year high of $87.30. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $57.76 and a 200-day moving average of $65.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.24 billion, a PE ratio of 9.42 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.43 by ($0.07). The firm had revenue of $22.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.79 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 8th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 7th. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is 31.25%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, March 12th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $67.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $116.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Argus cut shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $51.00 price target (down previously from $104.00) on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, TheStreet cut shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.50.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Profile

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company engages in the procurement, transportation, storage, processing, and merchandising of agricultural commodities, ingredients, flavors, and solutions in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.