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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in 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 trading volume, of 2,970,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.8 days. Currently, 2.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Peterson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. 78.28% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ADM. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price 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. Barclays decreased 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 research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $56.89.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Trading Down 2.4 %

Shares of ADM stock traded down $1.23 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $50.01. The stock had a trading volume of 4,485,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,136,781. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.93 billion, a PE ratio of 14.29 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $51.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $55.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 52-week low of $48.40 and a 52-week high of $66.08.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to repurchase 100,000,000 outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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.