Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Holdings in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE)

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Free Report) by 56.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,460 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 21,337 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc.'s holdings in Andersons were worth $667,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS grew its holdings in 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 raised its holdings in shares of Andersons by 70.3% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,558 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Andersons by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $116,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares in the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Andersons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $327,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP grew its position in Andersons by 1,319.5% during the 4th quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 10,774 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $437,000 after purchasing an additional 10,015 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.06% of the company's stock.

Andersons Stock Performance

Andersons stock traded up $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.12. 201,931 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 246,316. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The Andersons, Inc. has a 12 month low of $35.88 and a 12 month high of $61.46. The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.52 and a two-hundred day moving average of $43.71.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. As a group, research analysts predict that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.195 dividend. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Andersons's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.49%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on ANDE. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $55.00 target price on shares of Andersons in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Andersons from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at $772,992. This trade represents a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Andersons 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.