The Andersons, Inc. $ANDE Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Bancorp

Key Points

• Fifth Third Bancorp dramatically increased its stake in The Andersons, boosting its holdings by 4,393.3% in the first quarter to 14,648 shares valued at about $1.05 million.
• The Andersons posted better-than-expected earnings for the quarter, reporting $1.12 EPS versus estimates of $0.70, though revenue of $2.63 billion came in slightly below forecasts.
• The company recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, translating to an annualized yield of about 1.0%, while analysts currently maintain an average Buy rating with an $85 price target.

Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Free Report) by 4,393.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,648 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,322 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp's holdings in Andersons were worth $1,051,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in shares of Andersons by 23.4% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 29,916 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,139,000 after buying an additional 5,675 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Andersons in the 1st quarter worth approximately $242,000. Strs Ohio increased its position in Andersons by 204.7% in the 1st quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 13,100 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $940,000 after acquiring an additional 8,800 shares during the period. Keybank National Association OH acquired a new stake in Andersons in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $339,000. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Andersons by 256.2% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 40,455 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,904,000 after acquiring an additional 29,099 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.06% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 19,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.31, for a total transaction of $1,495,721.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 94,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,429,661.25. This trade represents a 16.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 36,466 shares of company stock worth $2,895,769 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Andersons Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ANDE opened at $77.71 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $2.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.67 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.37 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The Andersons, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.84 and a 12 month high of $82.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $72.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.07.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.42. Andersons had a return on equity of 10.68% and a net margin of 1.17%.The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.71 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.12 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 1st were issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. Andersons's dividend payout ratio is 21.28%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ANDE shares. Benchmark reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Andersons in a research report on Monday, June 15th. Weiss Ratings raised Andersons from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of Andersons to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Texas Capital upgraded shares of Andersons to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.00.

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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