The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 683,800 shares, a drop of 12.2% from the March 15th total of 778,700 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company's shares are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 178,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANDE has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Andersons from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Roth Capital reissued a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $62.50.

Andersons Stock Down 1.7 %

ANDE stock traded down $0.97 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $57.51. 231,088 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 177,053. The firm has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56 and a beta of 0.68. Andersons has a 1-year low of $35.69 and a 1-year high of $58.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.72. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $54.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.22.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.48. Andersons had a net margin of 0.69% and a return on equity of 8.19%. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.26 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The firm's revenue was down 31.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Andersons will post 2.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.32%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 28th. Andersons's payout ratio is 25.85%.

Insider Activity at Andersons

In other Andersons news, CEO Patrick E. Bowe sold 1,338 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total transaction of $73,750.56. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,923,042.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Andersons news, CEO Patrick E. Bowe sold 1,338 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.12, for a total value of $73,750.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 89,315 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,923,042.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Patrick E. Bowe sold 34,597 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.46, for a total transaction of $1,918,749.62. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 83,515 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,631,741.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 38,858 shares of company stock worth $2,153,845 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Andersons

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Andersons by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,971,447 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $204,569,000 after acquiring an additional 47,494 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Andersons by 1.9% in the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 38,389 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $1,981,000 after acquiring an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Andersons by 199.1% in the 3rd quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 61,649 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,176,000 after acquiring an additional 41,037 shares during the period. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its stake in shares of Andersons by 35.0% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 16,713 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $962,000 after purchasing an additional 4,337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its holdings in shares of Andersons by 76.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 58,569 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,017,000 after purchasing an additional 25,295 shares during the period. 87.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Andersons Company Profile

The Andersons, Inc operates in trade, renewables, and nutrient and industrial sectors in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Egypt, Switzerland, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Trade, Renewables, and Nutrient & Industrial. The company's Trade segment operates grain elevators; stores commodities; and provides grain marketing, risk management, and origination services, as well as sells commodities, such as corn, soybeans, wheat, oats, ethanol, and corn oil.