Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) Upgraded at Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. Bank of America currently has $47.00 price objective on the stock, down from their previous price objective of $48.00.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $52.75.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

NYSE:ADM opened at $47.85 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $46.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $50.67. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 1 year low of $40.98 and a 1 year high of $66.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.26%. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.51%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. West Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.8% in the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 210 shares during the period. Invesco LLC lifted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 16,242 shares of the company’s stock valued at $821,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 7,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company engages in the procurement, transportation, storage, processing, and merchandising of agricultural commodities, ingredients, flavors, and solutions in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.