Brian Walz Sells 200 Shares of Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Stock

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) VP Brian Walz sold 200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $14,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president owned 20,888 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,462,160. This represents a 0.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Andersons Stock Performance

ANDE traded up $0.30 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $63.87. 209,626 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 294,154. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $61.20 and its 200 day simple moving average is $51.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81 and a beta of 0.74. The Andersons, Inc. has a 1-year low of $31.03 and a 1-year high of $70.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $2.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.48. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.69 billion. Andersons had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 0.87%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in Andersons during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new position in Andersons during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Andersons by 33,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Andersons by 95.2% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $44,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

About Andersons

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.