Short Interest in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Expands By 30.2%

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) saw a significant increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 901,156 shares, an increase of 30.2% from the February 26th total of 692,231 shares. Currently, 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 334,436 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.7 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ANDE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, March 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Andersons has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.33.

Andersons Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ANDE opened at $73.19 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $65.93 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $54.44. Andersons has a twelve month low of $31.03 and a twelve month high of $73.97. The stock has a market cap of $2.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Andersons Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Andersons’s payout ratio is presently 28.57%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.41, for a total transaction of $1,056,150.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 159,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,256,798.75. The trade was a 8.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Anne G. Rex sold 2,624 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.16, for a total value of $170,979.84. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 23,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,552,697.64. This trade represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 29,299 shares of company stock valued at $2,051,771. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Andersons

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ANDE. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares during the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in Andersons by 4.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $834,000 after acquiring an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers purchased a new stake in Andersons during the second quarter valued at about $257,000. Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in Andersons by 4.0% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 65,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Andersons by 2.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the last quarter. 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.