Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Short Interest Up 13.0% in December

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

NYSE:ADM opened at $51.23 on Monday. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 1 year low of $48.40 and a 1 year high of $68.85. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $56.84. The company has a market capitalization of $24.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 0.72.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 21st were paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.90%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 21st. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio is currently 57.14%.

Archer-Daniels-Midland declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, December 11th that allows the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on ADM shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $63.00 to $54.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $57.00 to $52.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Stephens began coverage on Archer-Daniels-Midland in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $55.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $56.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $51.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and fourteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $59.08.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 32,045,672 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,914,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018,256 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 19,430,111 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,160,755,000 after purchasing an additional 5,702,451 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 8,086,446 shares of the company’s stock valued at $483,084,000 after buying an additional 489,554 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 33.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,979,867 shares of the company’s stock valued at $237,757,000 after buying an additional 1,007,494 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 1.8% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,607,843 shares of the company’s stock worth $215,533,000 after buying an additional 63,883 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.