Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) Trading 4% Higher - Here's What Happened

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) shares shot up 4% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $52.18 and last traded at $51.64. 1,566,804 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 3,511,718 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.66.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on ADM. Citigroup reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Bank of America cut Archer-Daniels-Midland from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating and reduced their price target for the company from $47.00 to $45.00 in a report on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $55.00 to $60.00 in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $52.00.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average of $47.90 and a 200-day moving average of $48.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.40, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 1.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.69 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $20.18 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $22.05 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 2.10%. Archer-Daniels-Midland's revenue was down 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 21st were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland's payout ratio is 72.86%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. S.A. Mason LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the first quarter worth $25,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the first quarter worth $25,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, CoreFirst Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.28% of the company's stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Profile

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.