Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Short Interest Up 22.8% in February

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 11,490,000 shares, an increase of 22.8% from the January 31st total of 9,360,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ADM. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays cut their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 24th. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 0.0 %

ADM traded down $0.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $45.82. 3,265,538 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,452,727. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 12-month low of $44.92 and a 12-month high of $66.08. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $49.00 and a 200 day moving average of $53.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $21.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm’s revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.