The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Short Interest Update

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 639,700 shares, a decrease of 39.7% from the December 31st total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 293,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 2.0% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Joseph E. Mcneely sold 2,382 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.73, for a total value of $113,692.86. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,367,455.73. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANDE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its holdings in Andersons by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 232,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,364,000 after buying an additional 12,792 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in Andersons by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Andersons by 5.5% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Andersons by 18.4% in the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Andersons during the 4th quarter valued at $2,744,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Andersons in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised Andersons from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th.

Andersons Price Performance

NASDAQ ANDE opened at $41.06 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market cap of $1.40 billion, a PE ratio of 11.73 and a beta of 0.59. Andersons has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $43.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $47.18.

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

Andersons Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were given a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Andersons’s payout ratio is 22.29%.

Andersons Company Profile

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.