Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 15,560 Shares of The Andersons, Inc. $ANDE

Nordea Investment Management AB trimmed its position in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 15,560 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB’s holdings in Andersons were worth $5,959,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ANDE. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in Andersons by 162.8% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 438,219 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $17,445,000 after buying an additional 271,451 shares during the period. Algert Global LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Andersons in the 3rd quarter worth about $8,201,000. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its stake in shares of Andersons by 262.8% in the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 273,377 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $10,047,000 after acquiring an additional 198,029 shares in the last quarter. Walnut Level Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Andersons in the 2nd quarter worth about $6,989,000. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Andersons by 11.5% during the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,722,092 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,287,000 after acquiring an additional 176,972 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John T. Stout, Jr. sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.30, for a total value of $175,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 23,441 shares in the company, valued at $1,647,902.30. The trade was a 9.64% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Brian K. Walz sold 8,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.74, for a total value of $634,891.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 11,913 shares in the company, valued at $842,725.62. This trade represents a 42.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 29,299 shares of company stock worth $2,051,771. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Andersons Price Performance

ANDE opened at $72.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $2.45 billion, a PE ratio of 25.71 and a beta of 0.74. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.11. The Andersons, Inc. has a 1 year low of $31.03 and a 1 year high of $73.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 1.41 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The basic materials company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.56 by $0.48. The company had revenue of $2.54 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.69 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 7.76%. Andersons’s revenue for the quarter was down 18.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.31 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 1st. Andersons’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ANDE shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, January 21st. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Andersons from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $68.33.

About Andersons

The Andersons, Inc operates as a diversified agriculture company offering a broad range of products and services to farmers, retailers and industrial customers. Through its Grain Group, the company purchases, stores, merchandises and transports corn, soybeans and other commodities, while its Renewables Group produces ethanol and distillers grains at multiple plants in the U.S. The Rail Group provides locomotive leasing, railcar repair and related maintenance services, and the Horticulture Group supplies turf, specialty and horticultural products to landscaping professionals and consumer lawn and garden retailers.

Founded in 1947 and headquartered in Maumee, Ohio, The Andersons has grown from a regional grain elevator operator into an integrated agribusiness platform.