BMO Capital Markets Cuts Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) Price Target to $49.00

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) had its price objective trimmed by BMO Capital Markets from $51.00 to $49.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a market perform rating on the stock.

ADM has been the subject of several other reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Stephens reduced their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America downgraded Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.33.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

Shares of ADM opened at $45.74 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.89 billion, a PE ratio of 13.07 and a beta of 0.72. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $50.90 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.55. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 1-year low of $45.01 and a 1-year high of $66.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.96% and a net margin of 2.07%. The business had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $22.77 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.36 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 4.72 EPS for the current year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a positive change from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.46%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.51%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% in the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the last quarter. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.