The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totalling 764,300 shares, an increase of 19.5% from the December 31st total of 639,700 shares. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 309,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.5 days.

Andersons Stock Down 0.5 %

NASDAQ:ANDE traded down $0.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $40.65. 107,266 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 244,536. Andersons has a twelve month low of $39.25 and a twelve month high of $61.46. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $43.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $46.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a current ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $1.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.62 and a beta of 0.58.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.43 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.90 billion. Andersons had a return on equity of 8.21% and a net margin of 1.06%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 27.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.13 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Andersons will post 2.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd were issued a $0.195 dividend. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. This is an increase from Andersons's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Andersons's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.29%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Andersons

In related news, insider Joseph E. Mcneely sold 2,382 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.73, for a total transaction of $113,692.86. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 49,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,367,455.73. The trade was 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. Corporate insiders own 5.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Andersons

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Andersons by 23.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 652,579 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $32,720,000 after acquiring an additional 124,468 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC acquired a new stake in Andersons during the fourth quarter valued at $2,744,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Andersons in the third quarter worth about $2,798,000. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Andersons by 86.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 101,099 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,110,000 after purchasing an additional 46,903 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Andersons during the second quarter valued at about $2,311,000. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Andersons from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

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.