Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday.

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Andersons Price Performance

Shares of Andersons stock opened at $40.25 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.50 and a beta of 0.58. Andersons has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $42.79 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.74.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.37. Andersons had a return on equity of 8.21% and a net margin of 1.06%. The business had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.90 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Andersons will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Andersons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.195 dividend. This is a boost from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is 22.29%.

Insider Activity at Andersons

In related news, insider Joseph E. Mcneely sold 2,382 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.73, for a total transaction of $113,692.86. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,367,455.73. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 5.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Andersons

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ANDE. Peoples Bank KS boosted its stake in Andersons by 250.0% during the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 70.3% in the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Andersons during the third quarter valued at approximately $98,000. Systematic Financial Management LP bought a new stake in Andersons during the third quarter worth $227,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its position in Andersons by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Andersons

The Andersons, Inc operates in trade, renewables, and nutrient and industrial sectors in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Egypt, Switzerland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Trade, Renewables, and Nutrient & Industrial. The company’s Trade segment operates grain elevators; stores commodities; and provides grain marketing, risk management, and origination services, as well as sells commodities, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, ethanol, and corn oil.