UBS Group AG Boosts Stock Position in The Andersons, Inc. $ANDE

Key Points

• UBS Group AG increased its stake in The Andersons by 34.9% in the fourth quarter, adding 18,828 shares to bring its holdings to 72,808 shares worth about $3.87 million.
• Several analysts turned more bullish on the stock, with Benchmark lifting its price target to $90 and UBS also setting a $90 target. The consensus rating is now Moderate Buy with an average price target of $85.
• The Andersons reported quarterly EPS of $1.12, beating estimates, even though revenue of $2.63 billion came in slightly below expectations and was down 1.2% year over year.

UBS Group AG raised its stake in shares of The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Free Report) by 34.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 72,808 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 18,828 shares during the period. UBS Group AG owned approximately 0.22% of Andersons worth $3,871,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new stake in Andersons during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Optima Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Andersons during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Andersons by 33,600.0% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Andersons by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,266 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $67,000 after buying an additional 327 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Andersons by 227.9% during the 2nd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,954 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $109,000 after buying an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Andersons

In related news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 19,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.31, for a total value of $1,495,721.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 94,875 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,429,661.25. This trade represents a 16.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 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 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 value of $175,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,441 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,647,902.30. The trade was a 9.64% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 95,565 shares of company stock valued at $7,191,438. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Andersons Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:ANDE opened at $70.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $2.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.84 and a beta of 0.69. 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 business's 50 day simple moving average is $72.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $62.58. The Andersons, Inc. has a 12 month low of $31.84 and a 12 month high of $82.11.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 5th. The basic materials company reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.71 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.12 EPS. Andersons's quarterly revenue was down 1.2% on a year-over-year basis.

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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