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

Archer-Daniels-Midland (NYSE:ADM) had its price objective cut by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $52.00 to $47.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 3.94% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on ADM. Stephens dropped their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $55.00 to $52.00 in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $51.00 to $49.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Archer-Daniels-Midland from $54.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Barclays dropped 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, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and seven have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $55.11.

Archer-Daniels-Midland Price Performance

ADM opened at $45.22 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 cap of $21.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.53 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.08. Archer-Daniels-Midland has a 12-month low of $45.01 and a 12-month high of $66.08.

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

Archer-Daniels-Midland announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, December 11th that authorizes the company to buyback 100,000,000 shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Archer-Daniels-Midland

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

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.