Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) Upgraded by Bank of America to “Neutral” Rating

Bank of America upgraded shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) from an underperform rating to a neutral rating in a research note released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $47.00 target price on the stock, down from their previous target price of $48.00.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $52.75.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

ADM opened at $46.09 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $46.53 and its 200-day moving average is $50.78. The firm has a market cap of $22.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 1.39. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 52-week low of $40.98 and a 52-week high of $66.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced 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 company had revenue of $21.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.43%. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 56.51%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. West Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 2,152 shares of the company’s stock worth $109,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 16,242 shares of the company’s stock worth $821,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 4,565 shares of the company’s stock valued at $231,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 7,952 shares of the company’s stock worth $402,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.