Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Shares Bought by Skylands Capital LLC

Skylands Capital LLC lifted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 78,125 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 24,675 shares during the period. Skylands Capital LLC’s holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland were worth $3,947,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Up 3.8 %

NYSE ADM opened at $48.30 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $49.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.30. Archer-Daniels-Midland Company has a one year low of $44.92 and a one year high of $66.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 5.44 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The firm has a market cap of $23.11 billion, a PE ratio of 13.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.72.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.22%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 56.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on ADM shares. Citigroup lifted their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Stephens lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $55.11.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

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.