The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Short Interest Up 19.5% in January

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 764,300 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the December 31st total of 639,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 309,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Approximately 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Andersons

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Peoples Bank KS increased its stake in Andersons by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Andersons by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares during the last quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Andersons during the 3rd quarter worth about $98,000. Systematic Financial Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Andersons during the 3rd quarter worth about $227,000. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Andersons by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 4,547 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Andersons from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $60.00 price objective on shares of Andersons in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

Andersons Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ ANDE traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $40.17. 43,368 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 246,368. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $43.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $46.99. The company has a market capitalization of $1.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.58. Andersons has a 12 month low of $39.25 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.23.

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

Andersons Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Andersons’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.29%.

About Andersons

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.