Andersons Inc.

Company Description

The Anderson's Inc., with its subsidiaries, operates in agriculture storage and transportation markets in the United States. The company was founded in 1947 and has market cap of $531 million.

The commodity markets continue to be volatile as overall global economic conditions remain uncertain. But the Anderson's deftly navigated this territory, producing better than expected first-quarter results on May 6.

First-Quarter Results

Sales were down 2% from last year to $697.4 million. Earnings came in far ahead of expectations at 27 cents per share, blowing past the consensus of a loss of 1 cent.

Segment Results

The company noted that its grain and ethanol division produced operating income of $5.7 million, up from $2.2 million last year. On the flip side, its rail business suffered, with income dropping to $900,000 from $6.4 million on lower demand related to general economic weakness.

Estimates Jump

After the better than expected quarter hit the Street, analysts boosted their earnings projections. The current-year added 21 cents, climbing to $2.07 per share. The next-year estimate is pegged at $2.53, a 22% earnings growth projection.

Valuations

Based on the current-year estimate, this stock has a P/E multiple of 14X, in line with the overall market.

The Chart

Shares of ANDE have rebounded nicely from the short-term low, recently crossing the $31 mark after bottoming out below $11 in early March. Take a look below.