The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) was the target of a large drop in short interest in the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 665,500 shares, a drop of 20.5% from the March 31st total of 837,300 shares. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 341,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Andersons Stock Performance

Shares of ANDE stock opened at $37.33 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $40.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $43.04. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.65. Andersons has a 1 year low of $35.88 and a 1 year high of $57.39. The firm has a market cap of $1.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.24 and a beta of 0.55.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.34. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Andersons had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 1.01%. Analysts predict that Andersons will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Andersons’s payout ratio is currently 23.49%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Weston Heide sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $38,400.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $772,992. This represents a 4.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Andersons by 86.5% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,099 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $4,110,000 after acquiring an additional 46,903 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Andersons in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $728,000. Peoples Bank KS raised its stake in shares of Andersons by 250.0% during the fourth quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons during the fourth quarter worth $2,744,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in Andersons by 5.8% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 232,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $9,364,000 after buying an additional 12,792 shares during the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ANDE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on shares of Andersons in a report on Wednesday, February 19th.

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.