Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Given Consensus Rating of “Reduce” by Brokerages

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) has earned a consensus rating of “Reduce” from the eight research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $53.63.

ADM has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $50.00 to $48.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Stephens dropped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of ADM opened at $47.87 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.89 and its 200-day moving average is $52.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.39 and a quick ratio of 0.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a PE ratio of 13.26, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.67. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a fifty-two week low of $44.92 and a fifty-two week high of $66.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.10% and a return on equity of 10.44%. The firm had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $22.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 4.31 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that permits the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to repurchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is 56.51%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter worth about $333,521,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 41.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,430,111 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,160,755,000 after purchasing an additional 5,702,451 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 28.4% during the 4th quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 10,382,639 shares of the company’s stock worth $524,531,000 after purchasing an additional 2,296,193 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 24.8% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,145,818 shares of the company’s stock valued at $361,007,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,625 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,045,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,914,408,000 after buying an additional 1,018,256 shares in the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Archer-Daniels-Midland

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.