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

Shares of The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $56.72 and last traded at $56.58, with a volume of 82591 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $55.26.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ANDE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised Andersons from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $50.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $58.33.

Andersons Stock Up 2.5%

The firm has a market capitalization of $1.92 billion, a PE ratio of 26.47 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $51.89 and a 200 day moving average price of $44.23.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Andersons Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Andersons’s payout ratio is presently 37.38%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Andersons

In related news, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.77, for a total transaction of $647,125.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 33,441 shares of the company’s stock, 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 SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Anne G. Rex sold 3,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president owned 23,549 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,209,476.64. The trade was a 11.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 20,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,076,205 over the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Andersons

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Andersons by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 962 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings 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 valued at $67,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank increased its position in Andersons by 3.9% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $379,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC increased its position in Andersons by 2.2% in the second quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 16,967 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $624,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Andersons by 1.7% during the third quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $917,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

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.