Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Raised to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Wednesday.

Separately, Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Andersons in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Andersons Stock Performance

Shares of ANDE stock opened at $40.39 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $46.35. Andersons has a 52 week low of $39.25 and a 52 week high of $61.46.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.29%.

Insider Transactions at Andersons

In related news, insider Joseph E. Mcneely sold 2,382 shares of Andersons stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.73, for a total transaction of $113,692.86. Following the sale, the insider now owns 49,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,367,455.73. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Andersons

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Andersons in the fourth quarter worth about $337,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Andersons by 9.4% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,710 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 579 shares during the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in shares of Andersons in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,175,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Andersons by 150.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 139,626 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $5,658,000 after buying an additional 83,817 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Andersons by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 397,691 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $16,114,000 after buying an additional 38,020 shares in the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.