Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $62.95 and last traded at $62.86, with a volume of 40465 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $61.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on ANDE shares. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Andersons from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Wednesday, December 10th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $58.33.

Andersons Stock Up 1.7%

The company has a market capitalization of $2.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $54.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.38. Andersons had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 5.83%. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.85 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Andersons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This is an increase from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.20. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.38%.

Insider Transactions at Andersons

In related news, VP Anne G. Rex sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.36, for a total value of $154,080.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 23,549 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,209,476.64. This trade represents a 11.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.77, for a total transaction of $647,125.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 33,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,731,240.57. This trade represents a 27.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 20,500 shares of company stock worth $1,076,205. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Andersons by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 962 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in Andersons by 34.8% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank lifted its holdings in Andersons by 3.9% during the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,524 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Andersons by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $917,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Croban increased its holdings in shares of Andersons by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Croban now owns 25,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $920,000 after acquiring an additional 402 shares during the period. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.