Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Receives Consensus Rating of “Reduce” from Brokerages

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) have been given an average recommendation of “Reduce” by the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation and seven have issued a hold recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $54.89.

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $16,733,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV lifted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 36,050 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,821,000 after acquiring an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 34.4% during the 4th quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 32,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,642,000 after acquiring an additional 8,324 shares during the last quarter. Challenger Wealth Management bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $309,000. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 7,349 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after acquiring an additional 617 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $46.60 on Tuesday. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 1 year low of $44.92 and a 1 year high of $66.08. The firm has a market cap of $22.35 billion, a PE ratio of 12.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $49.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $53.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 2.10%. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Profile

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company engages in the procurement, transportation, storage, processing, and merchandising of agricultural commodities, ingredients, flavors, and solutions in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.