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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on ADM. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $56.00 to $50.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price target for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $56.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE ADM traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $50.01. 4,485,372 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,124,052. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.72. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a twelve month low of $48.40 and a twelve month high of $66.08. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.42 and a 200 day simple moving average of $55.91.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.00%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is presently 57.14%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to reacquire shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Archer-Daniels-Midland

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ADM. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 179.4% during the fourth quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 556 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 357 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Archer-Daniels-Midland in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.28% of the company’s stock.

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.