Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Shares Cross Above 200 Day Moving Average - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• The Andersons (NASDAQ: ANDE) crossed above its 200-day moving average, with shares trading as high as $73.12 and last changing hands at $72.66. The move may signal improving momentum after a period below the long-term trend line.
• Analyst sentiment has been broadly positive, with recent buy ratings and higher price targets from firms including UBS, Benchmark, and BMO Capital Markets. MarketBeat says the stock’s average rating is Moderate Buy with an average price target of $85.
• The company recently beat earnings expectations, reporting $1.12 EPS versus the $0.70 estimate, though revenue came in slightly below forecasts. Insider selling has also been notable, with executives and directors trimming positions in recent months.

Shares of The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) crossed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of $63.62 and traded as high as $73.12. Andersons shares last traded at $72.66, with a volume of 247,790 shares traded.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANDE has been the topic of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Andersons from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of Andersons from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Andersons from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Andersons has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $85.00.

Andersons Stock Performance

The company's 50 day moving average price is $72.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $2.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32 and a beta of 0.64.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $1.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.42. Andersons had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The company had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. Andersons's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Transactions at Andersons

In other news, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.30, for a total transaction of $175,750.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 23,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,647,902.30. This trade represents a 9.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Brian K. Walz sold 8,975 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.74, for a total transaction of $634,891.50. Following the sale, the vice president owned 11,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $842,725.62. The trade was a 42.97% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 95,565 shares of company stock worth $7,191,438 in the last quarter. Insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Optimize Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Optimize Financial Inc now owns 14,657 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $779,000 after acquiring an additional 208 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 34.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 962 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 246 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 327 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Andersons by 95.2% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Finally, Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new position in shares of Andersons in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.06% of the company's stock.

About Andersons

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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