StockNews.com Downgrades Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) to Hold

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Thursday.

Separately, Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday.

Andersons Price Performance

NASDAQ ANDE opened at $45.53 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $41.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $45.94. Andersons has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $61.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.58.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 7.59%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Andersons will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Andersons

In other Andersons news, VP Weston Heide sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $38,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $772,992. This trade represents a 4.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $113,692.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,367,455.73. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Andersons by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,337,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,054,000 after buying an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Andersons by 7.8% during the fourth quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,166,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,278,000 after acquiring an additional 84,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Andersons by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 785,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,374,000 after acquiring an additional 14,634 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Andersons by 15.2% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 751,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,456,000 after purchasing an additional 99,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 11.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 615,897 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,956,000 after purchasing an additional 61,250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

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.