Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) Hits New 52-Week Low - Should You Sell?

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report)'s share price reached a new 52-week low during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $35.88 and last traded at $38.87, with a volume of 401254 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $36.50.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ANDE shares. StockNews.com lowered Andersons from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Andersons Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 1.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.40 and a beta of 0.55. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $44.01.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) 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. Andersons had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 1.01%. The firm had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. As a group, analysts predict that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current year.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. Andersons's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.49%.

Insider Activity at Andersons

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Andersons

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Andersons by 2.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,337,344 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $67,054,000 after purchasing an additional 28,773 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Andersons by 86.5% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,110,000 after buying an additional 46,903 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Andersons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $728,000. Peoples Bank KS increased its holdings in shares of Andersons by 250.0% in the 4th quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 700 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Andersons by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 785,139 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $39,374,000 after acquiring an additional 14,634 shares in the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.