Short Interest in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Expands By 11.8%

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 764,400 shares, an increase of 11.8% from the March 31st total of 683,800 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 177,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 4.3 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ANDE shares. StockNews.com raised shares of Andersons from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 11th. Roth Capital reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Andersons in a research report on Tuesday, February 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $62.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Andersons

In related news, CEO Patrick E. Bowe sold 1,338 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 89,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,923,042.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related 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 value of $73,750.56. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 89,315 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,923,042.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael J. Anderson sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.00, for a total value of $177,000.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 209,968 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,388,112. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 45,245 shares of company stock worth $2,534,099. 5.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in ANDE. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Andersons by 65.8% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 524 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. C M Bidwell & Associates Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Andersons in the third quarter worth $33,000. Creekmur Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Andersons in the fourth quarter valued at $41,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons during the first quarter valued at $66,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp purchased a new stake in Andersons during the 3rd quarter worth about $107,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.06% of the company's stock.

Andersons Price Performance

ANDE stock traded up $0.36 during trading on Monday, reaching $57.27. 100,177 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 184,102. 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 stock's 50 day moving average price is $55.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.73. Andersons has a 52-week low of $35.69 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The company has a market cap of $1.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.48 and a beta of 0.68.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The basic materials company reported $1.59 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.48. Andersons had a return on equity of 8.19% and a net margin of 0.69%. The business had revenue of $3.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.26 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 31.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Andersons will post 2.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 1st were issued a $0.19 dividend. This represents a $0.76 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 28th. Andersons's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 25.85%.

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.