Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Receives $67.50 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) has earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.50.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on ADM shares. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $51.00 target price (down previously from $104.00) on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Friday, January 26th. Roth Capital downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 13th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $66.00 to $60.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 13th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 14th.

Institutional Trading of Archer-Daniels-Midland

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 15,325,806 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,106,830,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532,284 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.9% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 13,303,791 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,003,372,000 after acquiring an additional 252,486 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 41.8% in the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 8,641,438 shares of the company’s stock valued at $651,737,000 after acquiring an additional 2,547,232 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 6,488,389 shares of the company’s stock worth $468,591,000 after purchasing an additional 217,459 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter valued at about $420,457,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland stock opened at $60.42 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $57.91 and a 200 day moving average of $65.77. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 52 week low of $50.72 and a 52 week high of $87.30. The company has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 9.44 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.07). Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 15.25% and a net margin of 3.71%. The company had revenue of $22.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 5.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, March 12th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were issued a $0.50 dividend. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.25%.

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.