Brokerages Set Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Target Price at $67.50

Shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) have been given a consensus rating of “Reduce” by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have given a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.50.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ADM. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $51.00 price objective (down previously from $104.00) on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $70.00 to $65.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $63.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus downgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $116.00 to $56.00 in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $85.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 14th.

Institutional Trading of Archer-Daniels-Midland

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Orion Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Tompkins Financial Corp acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of ADM stock opened at $62.60 on Friday. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a twelve month low of $50.72 and a twelve month high of $87.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.78 and a beta of 0.77. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $58.28 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.60, a quick ratio of 0.95 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, March 12th. The company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.43 by ($0.07). Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 3.71% and a return on equity of 15.25%. The company had revenue of $22.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.79 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 5.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, March 12th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to purchase up to 6.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 29th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 8th were paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.19%. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 7th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is presently 31.25%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Profile

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company engages in the procurement, transportation, storage, processing, and merchandising of agricultural commodities, ingredients, flavors, and solutions in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.