Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Call Options on Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM)

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders bought 8,872 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 68% compared to the typical volume of 5,273 call options.

Archer Daniels Midland Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of ADM stock traded up $0.58 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $61.77. The stock had a trading volume of 732,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,198,743. Archer Daniels Midland has a 12-month low of $40.98 and a 12-month high of $65.00. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $58.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.92 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $20.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.96 billion. Archer Daniels Midland had a net margin of 1.43% and a return on equity of 8.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.09 EPS. Archer Daniels Midland has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.250-3.500 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Archer Daniels Midland will post 4.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer Daniels Midland Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 11th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 19th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 19th. Archer Daniels Midland’s dividend payout ratio is 83.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ADM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Zacks Research cut Archer Daniels Midland from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed an “underweight” rating and set a $59.00 price objective (down from $61.00) on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research note on Wednesday, November 5th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered Archer Daniels Midland from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $57.00 to $50.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and four have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Archer Daniels Midland presently has an average rating of “Reduce” and a consensus target price of $54.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer Daniels Midland

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Archer Daniels Midland during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Trust Co. of Vermont raised its stake in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 367.0% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 313.8% during the third quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 509 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 386 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in Archer Daniels Midland in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hager Investment Management Services LLC raised its position in Archer Daniels Midland by 113.6% during the 3rd quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC now owns 534 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Archer Daniels Midland Company Profile

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is a global agricultural processor and food-ingredient provider that sources, transports and processes oilseeds, corn, wheat and other agricultural commodities. The company operates large-scale crushing, refining and processing facilities that produce vegetable oils, protein meals, corn sweeteners, starches, ethanol, animal feeds and a wide range of food and industrial ingredients. ADM also develops specialty ingredients and solutions for human and animal nutrition, food and beverage formulation, and industrial applications such as bio-based materials and renewable fuels.

ADM’s business combines commodity origination and merchandising with downstream manufacturing and ingredient formulation.