Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Hits New 12-Month High on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The company traded as high as $428.12 and last traded at $425.33, with a volume of 878190 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $404.96.

The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.90 by $0.65. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company’s revenue was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $8.26 EPS.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 30th were given a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 20.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Truist Financial increased their price target on Deere & Company from $443.00 to $496.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 price target for the company. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $420.69.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 20.5% in the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its position in Deere & Company by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Balentine LLC bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the 3rd quarter valued at about $710,000. Royal Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 99.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,694,000 after purchasing an additional 3,223 shares during the period. Finally, New Century Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,052,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 7.7 %

The company has a market capitalization of $119.37 billion, a PE ratio of 14.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a current ratio of 2.07 and a quick ratio of 1.87. The company’s fifty day moving average is $405.95 and its 200-day moving average is $386.18.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company engages in the manufacture and distribution of various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production and Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Production and Precision Agriculture segment provides large and medium tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters and loaders, harvesting front-end equipment, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage and seeding equipment, as well as application equipment, including sprayers and nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery for grain growers.