Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Cut to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

ANDE has been the subject of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Andersons from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 1st. UBS Group set a $90.00 target price on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $110.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Texas Capital raised Andersons to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered Andersons to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Andersons has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $95.00.

Andersons Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ ANDE opened at $71.68 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.84 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. Andersons has a 12 month low of $37.69 and a 12 month high of $82.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $70.48 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $70.85.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The basic materials company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.67. The company had revenue of $3.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.28 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 1.62% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.24 EPS.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Andersons’s payout ratio is presently 15.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Andersons

In related news, Director Patrick Bowe sold 3,534 shares of Andersons stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.53, for a total value of $284,593.02. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 74,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,029,683.75. The trade was a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Andersons

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tidal Investments LLC acquired a new position in Andersons in the second quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $496,000. Nykredit A S acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $135,000. Amundi increased its stake in shares of Andersons by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Amundi now owns 33,055 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,261,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Andersons by 5,655.0% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,513,084 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $171,895,000 after acquiring an additional 2,469,416 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

About Andersons

The Andersons, Inc is an agriculture-focused company headquartered in Maumee, Ohio. Founded in 1947, the company serves farmers, manufacturers, food and feed producers, and other customers through businesses connected to grain, plant nutrients, and renewable fuels.

The company’s activities include merchandising and storing grains, supplying agricultural fertilizers and related plant-nutrient products, and producing and marketing ethanol and other renewable fuel products. Its operations also support the movement and processing of agricultural commodities through grain terminals, elevators, and logistics services.

The Andersons serves customers primarily across the United States, with operations and commercial relationships extending into Canada and other markets.