The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Short Interest Down 39.7% in January

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 639,700 shares, a decline of 39.7% from the December 31st total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 293,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 2.0% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Andersons Stock Performance

Andersons stock traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $41.92. 11,568 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 252,181. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.02 and a beta of 0.59. Andersons has a 12-month low of $39.25 and a 12-month high of $61.46. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $43.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $47.14.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. Andersons had a return on equity of 8.21% and a net margin of 1.06%. The business’s revenue was down 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Andersons will post 2.9 EPS for the current year.

Andersons Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, January 2nd. This is a boost from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is 22.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ANDE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of Andersons from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $60.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Andersons news, insider Joseph E. Mcneely sold 2,382 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.73, for a total value of $113,692.86. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 49,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,367,455.73. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in Andersons by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 232,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,364,000 after buying an additional 12,792 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Andersons by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Andersons by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 20,951 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its position in Andersons by 18.4% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 10,881 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $441,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690 shares during the period. Finally, Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in Andersons in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,744,000. 87.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.