Short Interest in Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) Increases By 19.6%

Archer-Daniels-Midland Company (NYSE:ADM) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 9,170,000 shares, a growth of 19.6% from the August 15th total of 7,670,000 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 3,240,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on ADM. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $60.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland from $65.00 to $66.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and fifteen have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Archer-Daniels-Midland has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.62.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Stock Performance

Shares of ADM stock traded up $0.05 on Tuesday, hitting $60.46. The company had a trading volume of 1,836,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,532,915. The firm has a market cap of $29.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61 and a beta of 0.72. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a twelve month low of $50.72 and a twelve month high of $80.14. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $60.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $60.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 1.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37.

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The company reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by ($0.19). The company had revenue of $22.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.12 billion. Archer-Daniels-Midland had a net margin of 2.93% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company’s revenue was down 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Archer-Daniels-Midland will post 5.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, September 11th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 21st were given a $0.50 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 21st. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. Archer-Daniels-Midland’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Juan R. Luciano sold 3,683 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $224,663.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 265,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,177,810. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CEO Juan R. Luciano sold 170,194 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.51, for a total transaction of $10,298,438.94. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 265,210 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,047,857.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Juan R. Luciano sold 3,683 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.00, for a total value of $224,663.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 265,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,177,810. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 219,348 shares of company stock worth $13,296,833 in the last three months. 1.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of ADM. NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 9.6% during the first quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 1,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $114,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 2,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $130,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc grew its stake in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Focused Wealth Management Inc now owns 5,338 shares of the company’s stock valued at $323,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Accordant Advisory Group Inc increased its holdings in Archer-Daniels-Midland by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Accordant Advisory Group Inc now owns 23,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,418,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CHICAGO TRUST Co NA grew its position in shares of Archer-Daniels-Midland by 4.4% in the first quarter. CHICAGO TRUST Co NA now owns 4,207 shares of the company’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. 78.28% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.