Re-opening lifts ADM’s earnings

Article Excerpt

ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO. $63 is a buy. The stock (New York symbol ADM; High-Growth Payer Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 558.5 million; Market cap: $35.2 billion; Dividend yield: 2.3%; Dividend Sustainability Rating: Above Average; www.adm.com) processes corn, wheat, soybeans, flax seed, peanuts and other crops into a variety of food ingredients. With the March 2021 payment, Archer Daniels raised its quarterly dividend by 2.8%. The new annual rate of $1.48 yields an attractive 2.3%. In the quarter ended March 31, 2021, the company’s revenue rose 26.2%, to $18.89 billion from $14.97 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share jumped 117.2%, to $1.39 from $0.64. Those gains are partly because the U.S. rollout of COVID-19 vaccines is spurring demand for food products from restaurants. The re-opening of more economies is also lifting demand for ethanol from corn, a gasoline additive. Archer Daniels Midland is a buy. buy…