Short Interest in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) Drops By 39.7%

The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE - Get Free Report) was the target of a large decline in short interest in December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 639,700 shares, a decline of 39.7% from the December 15th total of 1,060,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 293,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Approximately 2.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Andersons Trading Up 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:ANDE traded up $0.02 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.49. 245,349 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 309,931. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43 and a beta of 0.59. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $44.68 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $47.54. Andersons has a 1-year low of $39.25 and a 1-year high of $61.46.

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

Andersons Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 23rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.195 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. This is a positive change from Andersons's previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. Andersons's payout ratio is presently 22.29%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Joseph E. Mcneely sold 2,382 shares of the firm'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 owns 49,601 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,367,455.73. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 5.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Andersons

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Andersons by 8.8% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 3,737,703 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $185,390,000 after purchasing an additional 303,711 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in Andersons by 16.8% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 933,968 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $46,325,000 after buying an additional 134,126 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in 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 worth $32,720,000 after acquiring an additional 124,468 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in Andersons in the third quarter valued at $2,798,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 46,903 shares during the last quarter. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on ANDE. StockNews.com raised Andersons from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Stephens reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $60.00 target price on shares of Andersons in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd.

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.