Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Director Sells $175,750.00 in Stock

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Director John Stout, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.30, for a total value of $175,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,647,902.30. This trade represents a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Andersons Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of NASDAQ ANDE traded down $1.37 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $68.10. 121,118 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 308,905. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $63.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $52.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.32 and a beta of 0.74. The Andersons, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $71.54.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.31 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on ANDE shares. Wall Street Zen lowered Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Andersons currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.33.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Andersons by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,349,243 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $124,910,000 after purchasing an additional 17,278 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Andersons by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,722,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,287,000 after purchasing an additional 176,972 shares during the period. Rubric Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons during the fourth quarter worth about $53,469,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Andersons by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 822,812 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,757,000 after purchasing an additional 3,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in Andersons by 354.7% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 731,019 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,868,000 after buying an additional 570,245 shares during the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.