Zacks_Analysts' Blog : The Andersons Hikes Dividend - Analyst Blog

The board of directors of  The Andersons Inc. (ANDE), in its effort to increase value to its shareholders, has approved a 22% increase in its quarterly dividend.  Andersons will now pay a quarterly dividend of 11 cents per share, up from 9 cents paid on October 22, 2010. The increased dividend will be paid on January 24, 2011, to shareholders of record as of January 3, 2011.

Andersons has had a consistent track record of paying quarterly dividends, as exemplified by its latest hike that marked the 57^th consecutive quarterly dividend as well as approval of the company’s first quarter 2011 dividend. Andersons has an annualized dividend yield of 1.03%. The company ended the third quarter with a cash balance of $28.6 million.

The previous dividend hike was in February 2010 when the board approved of a 2.9% increase.

Andersons reported its third quarter earnings of 8 cents a share, a penny ahead of prior-year results due to strong operating results at the Plant Nutrient Group. Given the Plant Nutrient Group’s performance so far in 2010, it seems to be gearing up to deliver its second best performance after record results in 2008. Historically, the segment registers little or no income during the third quarter, a trend that was overwhelmingly reversed in this reported quarter.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for fourth-quarter 2010 is 91 cents per share. For full years 2010 and 2011, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are, respectively, $3.02 per share and $3.43 per share.

The quantitative Zacks #3 Rank (short-term Neutral rating) for the company indicates no clear directional pressure on the stock over the near term.

Maumee, Ohio-based Andersons is a diversified company operating in five different business segments ranging from buying, selling and storing grain to leasing railcars and running retail stores catering to the latest home hardware needs.