Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Sets New 1-Year High Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

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

The industrial products company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $8.26 EPS.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 8th. Investors of record on Monday, September 30th were paid a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.38%. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 20.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Citigroup increased their target price on Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. HSBC downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 26th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $420.69.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of DE. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Deere & Company by 32.0% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after acquiring an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,208,368 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,168,737,000 after purchasing an additional 31,459 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 27.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after purchasing an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,859,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,585,028,000 after acquiring an additional 19,200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,254,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $842,259,000 after buying an additional 60,255 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Trading Up 5.1 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $404.97 and a 200-day moving average of $385.83. The company has a market cap of $116.47 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a current ratio of 2.07.

About Deere & Company

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.