Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Short Interest Update

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 11,250,000 shares, an increase of 13.0% from the December 15th total of 9,960,000 shares. Approximately 2.4% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 2,970,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.8 days.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of ADM traded up $0.22 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $51.23. 3,234,014 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,508,151. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a fifty-two week low of $48.40 and a fifty-two week high of $68.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The business has a 50-day moving average of $51.75 and a 200-day moving average of $56.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 57.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $59.08.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ADM. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.8% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 4,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 0.9% during the third quarter. OLD National Bancorp IN now owns 20,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,234,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.4% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 5,830 shares of the company’s stock valued at $348,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.1% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 5,125 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, West Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. West Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,201 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company Profile

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company engages in the procurement, transportation, storage, processing, and merchandising of agricultural commodities, ingredients, flavors, and solutions in the United States, Switzerland, the Cayman Islands, Brazil, Mexico, Canada, the United Kingdom, and internationally. It operates in three segments: Ag Services and Oilseeds, Carbohydrate Solutions, and Nutrition.