First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. Trims Stock Position in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE)

First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. decreased its stake in The Andersons, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANDE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 61,238 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 779 shares during the quarter. Andersons makes up approximately 0.7% of First Wilshire Securities Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc.’s holdings in Andersons were worth $2,481,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Peoples Bank KS lifted its holdings in Andersons by 250.0% in the fourth quarter. Peoples Bank KS now owns 700 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Andersons by 70.3% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,558 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 643 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Andersons by 16.8% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 2,866 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 412 shares during the period. Systematic Financial Management LP purchased a new stake in Andersons during the third quarter worth $227,000. Finally, EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Andersons during the third quarter valued at $253,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.06% of the company’s stock.

Andersons Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of ANDE stock opened at $43.37 on Wednesday. The Andersons, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $39.25 and a fifty-two week high of $61.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a current ratio of 1.65. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $42.44 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.06 and a beta of 0.48.

Andersons (NASDAQ:ANDE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The basic materials company reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.34. The business had revenue of $3.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.72 billion. Andersons had a net margin of 1.01% and a return on equity of 7.59%. Research analysts expect that The Andersons, Inc. will post 3.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Andersons Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.195 dividend. This represents a $0.78 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.80%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Andersons’s payout ratio is currently 23.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ANDE has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $55.00 target price on shares of Andersons in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Andersons from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Weston Heide sold 800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.00, for a total value of $38,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 16,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $772,992. This represents a 4.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

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.