BlackRock Inc. Invests $427.69 Million in The Andersons, Inc. $ANDE

Key Points

• BlackRock acquired 6.25 million shares of The Andersons during the second quarter, valued at approximately $427.7 million and representing an 18.36% stake. Institutional investors collectively own 87.06% of the company.
• Andersons reported quarterly earnings of $2.15 per share, beating estimates of $1.48, although revenue fell 1.2% year over year to $3.10 billion. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, equal to a 1.2% yield.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Buy” rating and an average price target of $95, compared with the stock’s reported price of $65.92.

BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 6,252,747 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $427,688,000. BlackRock Inc. owned approximately 18.36% of Andersons as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ANDE. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Andersons by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 40,727 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 2,137 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Andersons by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 19,425 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $834,000 after buying an additional 866 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons during the second quarter worth approximately $257,000. XTX Topco Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Andersons in the second quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Andersons in the second quarter worth $1,036,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.06% of the company's stock.

Andersons Stock Performance

Shares of ANDE opened at $65.92 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $70.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.66. The Andersons, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.69 and a 12-month high of $82.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.24 billion, a PE ratio of 12.73 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 0.81.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, August 3rd. The basic materials company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.67. Andersons had a net margin of 1.62% and a return on equity of 16.23%. The firm had revenue of $3.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.24 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 22nd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Andersons's payout ratio is 15.44%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Andersons from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Andersons in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $110.00 target price on shares of Andersons in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Andersons from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded Andersons to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and four have assigned a Buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Andersons currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $95.00.

Insider Activity at Andersons

In other Andersons news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 3,534 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.53, for a total value of $284,593.02. Following the transaction, the director owned 74,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,029,683.75. This trade represents a 4.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

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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