The Andersons, Inc. $ANDE Shares Sold by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC decreased its position in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) by 11.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,371 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 20,718 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC owned 0.46% of Andersons worth $6,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in Andersons during the 3rd quarter worth about $1,320,000. Walnut Level Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Andersons during the second quarter worth about $6,989,000. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons during the second quarter worth about $1,331,000. AlphaQuest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Andersons in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,344,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Andersons by 11.5% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,722,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,287,000 after purchasing an additional 176,972 shares in the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on ANDE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Andersons from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $50.00 to $65.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 10th. Finally, Benchmark raised Andersons to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have given a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $62.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.00, for a total transaction of $275,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 25,941 shares in the company, valued at $1,426,755. The trade was a 16.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Andersons Stock Performance

Shares of ANDE stock opened at $68.64 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $57.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $48.14. The company has a market cap of $2.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.07 and a beta of 0.77. The Andersons, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $70.06.

Andersons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is 37.38%.

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.