Morgan Stanley Cuts Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) Price Target to $47.00

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) had its price target cut by Morgan Stanley from $52.00 to $47.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on ADM. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective 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. Stephens lowered their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $55.11.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

NYSE:ADM opened at $45.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 5.44, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $21.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.68 and a beta of 0.72. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 12 month low of $44.92 and a 12 month high of $66.08. The business’s 50-day moving average is $50.29 and its 200 day moving average is $55.01.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.14 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $21.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $22.77 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a return on equity of 10.44% and a net margin of 2.10%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.36 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 4.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. This is an increase from Archer-Daniels-Midland’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.50. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, February 18th. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.40%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program 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. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the 4th quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.