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

Shares of The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) have received an average rating of “Buy” from the five research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $85.00.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Texas Capital upgraded shares of Andersons to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Andersons from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Andersons to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Monday, June 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Andersons news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 19,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.31, for a total value of $1,495,721.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 94,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,429,661.25. This trade represents a 16.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 51,466 shares of company stock valued at $4,038,717 in the last ninety days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANDE. Optimize Financial Inc raised its stake in shares of Andersons by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 14,657 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $779,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Andersons by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 962 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Andersons by 34.8% in the 4th 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 during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Andersons by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in Andersons during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Institutional investors own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

Andersons Stock Performance

Andersons stock opened at $79.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $2.70 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 0.65. Andersons has a 12-month low of $31.84 and a 12-month high of $82.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $68.19.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.42. Andersons had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.71 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.12 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. Andersons’s payout ratio is currently 21.28%.

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.