Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday.

Separately, Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price objective on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday.

Andersons Price Performance

Andersons stock opened at $45.53 on Thursday. Andersons has a 52-week low of $39.25 and a 52-week high of $61.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $41.86 and its 200 day moving average is $45.94. The company has a market cap of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71 and a beta of 0.58.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.34. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.72 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 7.59%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Andersons will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Andersons

In other news, insider Joseph E. Mcneely sold 2,382 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.73, for a total value of $113,692.86. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,367,455.73. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Weston Heide sold 800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 5.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ANDE. Peoples Bank KS boosted 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Andersons by 70.3% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Truvestments Capital LLC bought a new position in Andersons in the 3rd quarter worth about $98,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Andersons by 16.8% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Andersons during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $189,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

About Andersons

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.