Prudential Financial Inc. Buys 47,105 Shares of The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Free Report) by 55.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,752 shares of the basic materials company's stock after acquiring an additional 47,105 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. owned about 0.39% of Andersons worth $5,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Andersons by 23.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 652,579 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $32,720,000 after purchasing an additional 124,468 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Andersons by 221.3% in the 4th quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 135,678 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $5,498,000 after buying an additional 93,453 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Andersons by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,166,781 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $47,278,000 after buying an additional 84,133 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new position in shares of Andersons in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,744,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Andersons in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,798,000. 87.06% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $55.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut Andersons from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th.

Andersons Stock Performance

ANDE traded down $2.73 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $38.61. The company had a trading volume of 409,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 239,366. The Andersons, Inc. has a 12-month low of $37.62 and a 12-month high of $61.46. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $42.33 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.68. The stock has a market cap of $1.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63 and a beta of 0.48. 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 (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.34. Andersons had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 7.59%. The company had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.72 billion. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.195 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.02%. Andersons's payout ratio is 23.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Andersons news, VP Weston Heide sold 800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total transaction of $38,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,104 shares in the company, valued at $772,992. This trade represents a 4.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.