Deere & Company Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:DE)

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) saw some unusual options trading on Thursday. Stock investors acquired 8,393 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 35% compared to the typical volume of 6,198 call options.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock opened at $475.22 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $475.92. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $435.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $404.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market cap of $129.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on Deere & Company from $538.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $442.83.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Everence Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Deere & Company by 148.3% in the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $5,179,000 after buying an additional 7,300 shares during the last quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 157.5% during the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 53.8% in the third quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank boosted its position in Deere & Company by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $23,376,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.