Short Interest in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Drops By 39.7%

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 639,700 shares, a decline of 39.7% from the December 15th total of 1,060,000 shares. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 293,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.2 days.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph E. Mcneely sold 2,382 shares of Andersons stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.73, for a total transaction of $113,692.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,367,455.73. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Andersons

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its position in Andersons by 11.5% in the second quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 11,175 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $554,000 after acquiring an additional 1,155 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Andersons in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $476,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp lifted its stake in Andersons by 18.9% in the second quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 32,758 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 5,198 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in Andersons by 16.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 933,968 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $46,325,000 after purchasing an additional 134,126 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Andersons in the second quarter worth $202,000. 87.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Andersons Stock Up 3.0 %

ANDE opened at $43.47 on Tuesday. Andersons has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.42 and a beta of 0.59. The company’s 50-day moving average is $44.68 and its 200 day moving average is $47.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. Andersons had a return on equity of 8.21% and a net margin of 1.06%. The company’s revenue was down 27.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.13 EPS. Research analysts expect that Andersons will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This is a positive change from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.79%. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Andersons from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Andersons Company Profile

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.