Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) Stock Price Up 5.5% – Here’s What Happened

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) shares shot up 5.5% on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $48.07 and last traded at $48.32. 2,509,563 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 27% from the average session volume of 3,448,902 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.80.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on ADM shares. Stephens reduced their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $54.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 2.9 %

The firm’s 50 day moving average is $48.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.58. The firm has a market cap of $23.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.39, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Archer-Daniels-Midland Company will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.12%. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s payout ratio is presently 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

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.