Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Reaches New 12-Month High - Should You Buy?

Key Points

• 52-week high: ANDE hit a new 52-week high intraday at $77.54 (last $76.85), yet the market consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a consensus price target of $68.33 — below the current price — despite some analysts (e.g., BMO) raising targets and issuing outperform/buy ratings.
• Earnings mixed: The company reported quarterly EPS of $2.04, beating the $1.56 estimate, but revenue of $2.54 billion missed expectations and was down 18.8% year-over-year, with a slim net margin of 0.87%.
• Insider activity and dividend: Insiders sold about 59,299 shares (~$4.31M) over the last quarter (including recent sales under a 10b5-1 plan), while Andersons pays a $0.20 quarterly dividend (1.0% yield, ~28.6% payout ratio).

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $77.54 and last traded at $76.85, with a volume of 19048 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $75.97.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANDE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Andersons in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Andersons from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, March 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $68.33.

Andersons Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $70.06 and a 200-day moving average of $59.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.29 and a beta of 0.68. 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 - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Andersons had a return on equity of 7.76% and a net margin of 0.87%.The firm's quarterly revenue was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 EPS.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Andersons's payout ratio is 28.57%.

Insider Transactions at Andersons

In other Andersons news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 2,407 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.67, for a total value of $184,544.69. Following the sale, the director owned 114,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,807,466.25. The trade was a 2.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Anne G. Rex sold 2,624 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.16, for a total transaction of $170,979.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 23,829 shares in the company, valued at $1,552,697.64. This trade represents a 9.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,299 shares of company stock worth $4,309,669. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ANDE. Optimize Financial Inc lifted its stake in Andersons by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 14,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 34.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 962 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 246 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Andersons by 34.8% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 327 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Andersons by 3.9% in the third quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 9,524 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $379,000 after buying an additional 356 shares during the period. Finally, Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Andersons by 1.7% during the third quarter. Summit Place Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,032 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $917,000 after purchasing an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Andersons Company Profile

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.

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