Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Reduce” by the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and thirteen have given a hold recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $59.08.

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America cut shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $54.00 in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,138,455 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,011,000 after acquiring an additional 68,133 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 30.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,082,442 shares of the company’s stock worth $105,163,000 after purchasing an additional 489,217 shares during the last quarter. Kieckhefer Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter valued at $2,339,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,086,446 shares of the company’s stock worth $483,084,000 after purchasing an additional 489,554 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marathon Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.5% during the third quarter. Marathon Asset Management Ltd now owns 303,155 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,110,000 after buying an additional 13,177 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 0.4 %

ADM stock opened at $51.23 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $24.52 billion, a PE ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.72. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 12 month low of $48.40 and a 12 month high of $68.85. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $51.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $56.94.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a dividend of $0.50 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is 57.14%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Profile

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.