Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Price Target Raised to $75.00

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) had its target price hoisted by BMO Capital Markets from $65.00 to $75.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on ANDE. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Andersons presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $68.33.

Andersons Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:ANDE opened at $65.65 on Thursday. Andersons has a 12-month low of $31.03 and a 12-month high of $70.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.45 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $59.34 and its 200-day simple moving average is $49.53.

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

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Andersons during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in Andersons in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in Andersons during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Andersons by 33,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Andersons by 95.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.