Stronger earnings spur buybacks

Article Excerpt

ARCHER DANIELS MIDLAND CO. $89 is a buy. The company (New York symbol ADM; Aggressive Growth Portfolio, Manufacturing & Industry sector; Shares outstanding: 560.6 million; Market cap: $49.9 billion; Price-to-sales ratio: 0.5; Dividend yield: 1.8%; TSINetwork Rating: Above Average; www.adm.com) processes corn, wheat, soybeans, flax seed and other crops into a variety of food ingredients such as flour, oils and sweeteners. It’s also a leading producer of ethanol from corn, a gasoline additive that reduces harmful emissions. In the quarter ended June 30, 2022, revenue rose 19.0%, to $27.28 billion from $22.93 billion a year earlier. Earnings per share gained 61.7%, to $2.15 from $1.33. Those gains are mainly because Archer raised its selling prices in response to rising crop input costs. The company now plans to buy back $1 billion of its shares in this last half of 2022. As well, the $1.60 dividend yields an attractive 1.8%. Archer Daniels Midland is a buy. buy…