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

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) by 55.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 132,752 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 47,105 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.39% of Andersons worth $5,379,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ANDE. State Street Corp increased its stake in Andersons by 2.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,337,344 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $67,054,000 after purchasing an additional 28,773 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its position in shares of Andersons by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,166,781 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $47,278,000 after buying an additional 84,133 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Andersons by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 785,139 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,374,000 after buying an additional 14,634 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Andersons by 15.2% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 751,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $30,456,000 after acquiring an additional 99,045 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Andersons by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 353,271 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,315,000 after acquiring an additional 44,022 shares during the period. 87.06% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Andersons Stock Performance

ANDE opened at $42.93 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.93 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $42.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.85. The Andersons, Inc. has a 1 year low of $39.25 and a 1 year high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 1.65 and a quick ratio of 0.90.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.34. Andersons had a return on equity of 7.59% and a net margin of 1.01%. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Equities analysts expect that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.195 per share. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Andersons’s payout ratio is 23.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Stephens reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $55.00 price target on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th.

Insider Activity at Andersons

In other news, VP Weston Heide sold 800 shares of the firm’s 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 in the company, valued at $772,992. This trade represents a 4.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 4.30% of the stock is owned by 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.