The Andersons, Inc. $ANDE Shares Bought by Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC

Key Points

• Brandywine Global Investment Management increased its stake in The Andersons by 270.5% in the fourth quarter, ending with 65,116 shares worth about $3.46 million.
• The Andersons reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.12 per share, topping estimates, although revenue of $2.63 billion came in slightly below forecasts and was down 1.2% year over year.
• Wall Street sentiment remains constructive, with analysts assigning a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $85, while insiders have sold shares in recent months, including Director Patrick E. Bowe’s 16,466-share sale.

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Free Report) by 270.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 65,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 47,539 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.19% of Andersons worth $3,462,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Andersons by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 822,812 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $43,757,000 after buying an additional 3,259 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Andersons by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 509,820 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,296,000 after buying an additional 9,245 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in Andersons by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 506,222 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $20,153,000 after buying an additional 10,698 shares in the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Andersons by 162.8% during the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 438,219 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,445,000 after buying an additional 271,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Andersons by 36.5% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 373,196 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $14,857,000 after buying an additional 99,819 shares in the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Andersons Price Performance

Shares of ANDE opened at $74.24 on Thursday. The Andersons, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.84 and a twelve month high of $82.11. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $72.98 and its 200-day simple moving average is $64.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.74 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 16,466 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total value of $1,329,794.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 78,409 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,332,310.84. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 23,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,647,902.30. This trade represents a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 83,966 shares of company stock worth $6,385,567 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 4.30% 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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