Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Stock Price Up 5.3% – Still a Buy?

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) shot up 5.3% on Monday . The stock traded as high as $44.26 and last traded at $44.13. 36,411 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 82% from the average session volume of 205,961 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.91.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANDE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Andersons in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Andersons Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.34 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.65. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $42.40 and its 200-day moving average is $45.24.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.34. Andersons had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 7.59%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Analysts forecast that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. Andersons’s payout ratio is 23.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Weston Heide sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $38,400.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $772,992. This represents a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Andersons

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Andersons in the 4th quarter valued at $8,651,000. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC purchased a new stake in Andersons in the fourth quarter valued at $8,545,000. Millennium Management LLC boosted its stake in Andersons by 3,547.8% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 204,532 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $8,288,000 after acquiring an additional 198,925 shares in the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. acquired a new position in Andersons in the fourth quarter valued at $7,354,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Andersons by 23.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 652,579 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,720,000 after purchasing an additional 124,468 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

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.