Archer Daniels Midland Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NYSE:ADM)

Archer Daniels Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) saw some unusual options trading activity on Friday. Stock traders purchased 60,742 call options on the stock. This is an increase of 1,290% compared to the typical volume of 4,371 call options.

Archer Daniels Midland Trading Up 0.0%

NYSE ADM opened at $69.52 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $33.41 billion, a PE ratio of 31.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.71. Archer Daniels Midland has a 52 week low of $40.98 and a 52 week high of $70.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 11.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.33. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $62.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $61.15.

Archer Daniels Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.80 by $0.07. Archer Daniels Midland had a net margin of 1.34% and a return on equity of 7.39%. The business had revenue of $18.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.14 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.7% on a year-over-year basis. Archer Daniels Midland has set its FY 2026 guidance at 3.600-4.250 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Archer Daniels Midland will post 4.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Archer Daniels Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.52 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 17th. This is a positive change from Archer Daniels Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.51. This represents a $2.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.0%. Archer Daniels Midland’s payout ratio is presently 93.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director David R. Mcatee II bought 7,500 shares of Archer Daniels Midland stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $64.90 per share, with a total value of $486,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 7,500 shares in the company, valued at $486,750. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer Daniels Midland

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ADM. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Archer Daniels Midland during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $262,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC increased its position in shares of Archer Daniels Midland by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC now owns 21,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,727 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board raised its stake in Archer Daniels Midland by 31.6% in the 4th quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 79,629 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,578,000 after acquiring an additional 19,119 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its position in Archer Daniels Midland by 14.8% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 62,862 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,614,000 after acquiring an additional 8,120 shares during the period. Finally, Rubric Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Archer Daniels Midland during the 4th quarter valued at about $63,330,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ADM has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Zacks Research raised Archer Daniels Midland from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a research note on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Archer Daniels Midland from $60.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Archer Daniels Midland in a report on Wednesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Archer Daniels Midland from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $57.00 to $50.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Reduce” and a consensus price target of $57.00.

About Archer Daniels Midland

Archer Daniels Midland Company (ADM) is a global agricultural processor and food-ingredient provider that sources, transports and processes oilseeds, corn, wheat and other agricultural commodities. The company operates large-scale crushing, refining and processing facilities that produce vegetable oils, protein meals, corn sweeteners, starches, ethanol, animal feeds and a wide range of food and industrial ingredients. ADM also develops specialty ingredients and solutions for human and animal nutrition, food and beverage formulation, and industrial applications such as bio-based materials and renewable fuels.

ADM’s business combines commodity origination and merchandising with downstream manufacturing and ingredient formulation.