Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) have been given an average rating of “Hold” by the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $442.83.

Several equities analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $448.00 to $477.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd.

Deere & Company Stock Up 4.0 %

Shares of NYSE:DE opened at $456.57 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $124.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $469.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $431.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $402.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. The business had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The company’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. Equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.57 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. 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. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. DLK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Deere & Company by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. DLK Investment Management LLC now owns 8,212 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,479,000 after buying an additional 24 shares in the last quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 1.3% in the third quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,884 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $786,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.3% in the third quarter. Carret Asset Management LLC now owns 8,148 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,401,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 2.0% in the third quarter. Round Rock Advisors LLC now owns 1,252 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $522,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 557 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Deere & Company

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.