The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 13th, there was short interest totaling 901,156 shares, an increase of 30.2% from the February 26th total of 692,231 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 334,436 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.7 days. Approximately 2.8% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ANDE shares. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen cut Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Andersons currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.33.

Insider Transactions at Andersons

In other Andersons news, VP Brian K. Walz sold 8,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.74, for a total transaction of $634,891.50. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 11,913 shares in the company, valued at $842,725.62. This trade represents a 42.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Anne G. Rex sold 2,624 shares of Andersons stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.16, for a total value of $170,979.84. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 23,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,552,697.64. This represents a 9.92% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 29,299 shares of company stock worth $2,051,771 over the last quarter. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 5.5% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,727 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 2,137 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Andersons by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,425 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $834,000 after purchasing an additional 866 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers bought a new position in Andersons in the second quarter valued at about $257,000. Swiss National Bank raised its position in Andersons by 4.0% in the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 65,250 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,398,000 after purchasing an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in shares of Andersons by 2.3% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 98,896 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares in the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Andersons Stock Down 2.2%

Shares of NASDAQ ANDE opened at $71.57 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $2.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.56 and a beta of 0.74. Andersons has a 12 month low of $31.03 and a 12 month high of $73.97. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $66.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.76.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 18.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Andersons will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.57%.

Andersons Company Profile

The Andersons, Inc operates as a diversified agriculture company offering a broad range of products and services to farmers, retailers and industrial customers. Through its Grain Group, the company purchases, stores, merchandises and transports corn, soybeans and other commodities, while its Renewables Group produces ethanol and distillers grains at multiple plants in the U.S. The Rail Group provides locomotive leasing, railcar repair and related maintenance services, and the Horticulture Group supplies turf, specialty and horticultural products to landscaping professionals and consumer lawn and garden retailers.

Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Maumee, Ohio, The Andersons has grown from a regional grain elevator operator into an integrated agribusiness platform.