Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) Hits New 12-Month Low – Should You Sell?

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $44.06 and last traded at $44.32, with a volume of 1373259 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $47.57.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Stephens cut their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on 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. Bank of America cut their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $53.63.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day moving average is $47.51 and its 200 day moving average is $51.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.00, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.66. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.71%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. West Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.1% during the 4th quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. raised its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.8% during the fourth quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,152 shares of the company’s stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 16,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,565 shares of the company’s stock worth $231,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC increased its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 7,952 shares of the company’s stock valued at $402,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

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.