Wall Street Zen Upgrades Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) to Buy

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen upgraded Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) from hold to buy, adding to a generally positive analyst backdrop. The stock now carries a Moderate Buy consensus rating with an average target price of $82.50.
• Andersons reported stronger-than-expected earnings for the quarter, posting $1.12 EPS versus the $0.70 estimate. Revenue came in at $2.63 billion, slightly below forecasts, while shares were up about 0.9% and recently traded near $71.45.
• Insider selling and heavy institutional ownership were also highlighted. Directors sold shares in recent transactions, while institutional investors own about 87.06% of the company’s stock.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on ANDE. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Andersons from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Andersons from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Andersons currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $82.50.

Andersons Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:ANDE opened at $71.45 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $71.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $60.81. The stock has a market cap of $2.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.00 and a beta of 0.69. Andersons has a fifty-two week low of $31.84 and a fifty-two week high of $82.11. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.63 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.71 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 1.17% and a return on equity of 10.68%. The firm's revenue was down 1.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.12 earnings per share.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Andersons news, Director Patrick E. Bowe sold 16,466 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.76, for a total transaction of $1,329,794.16. Following the sale, the director owned 78,409 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,332,310.84. This trade represents a 17.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction 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 firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.30, for a total transaction of $175,750.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 23,441 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,647,902.30. The trade was a 9.64% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 95,765 shares of company stock valued at $7,205,438. 4.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Uniplan Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new stake in Andersons during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC acquired a new stake in Andersons during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Optima Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Andersons during the fourth quarter worth approximately $32,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in Andersons by 33,600.0% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,011 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 1,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Andersons by 95.2% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 820 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.06% of the company's stock.

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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