The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) has received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $62.50.

Several analysts recently weighed in on ANDE shares. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Andersons from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $50.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Benchmark raised shares of Andersons to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a report on Wednesday, January 21st.

Andersons Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ ANDE opened at $66.86 on Wednesday. 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 market cap of $2.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.24 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $56.18 and its two-hundred day moving average is $47.40. Andersons has a 1-year low of $31.03 and a 1-year high of $67.46.

Andersons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a $0.20 dividend. This is a boost from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. Andersons’s payout ratio is 37.38%.

Insider Transactions at Andersons

In other news, VP Anne G. Rex sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 23,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,209,476.64. This represents a 11.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total value of $275,000.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 25,941 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,755. This trade represents a 16.16% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 20,500 shares of company stock valued at $1,076,205 over the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ANDE. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Andersons in the 4th quarter valued at $32,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Andersons in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Andersons by 33,600.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Andersons by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $67,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 227.9% in the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $109,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

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.