Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Price Target Raised to $72.00 at Oppenheimer

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) had its target price upped by Oppenheimer from $70.00 to $72.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Corteva from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $67.31.

Corteva Price Performance

NYSE CTVA opened at $62.32 on Friday. Corteva has a 12-month low of $50.01 and a 12-month high of $66.24. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $60.22 and its 200-day moving average is $58.14. The company has a market capitalization of $42.83 billion, a PE ratio of 62.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a net margin of 4.18% and a return on equity of 6.63%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Corteva will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.69%.

Corteva announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 19th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Corteva by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,290,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,015,914,000 after purchasing an additional 768,519 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Corteva by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,703,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,505,000 after purchasing an additional 355,206 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company’s stock worth $860,746,000 after acquiring an additional 856,007 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 14,362,309 shares of the company’s stock valued at $844,360,000 after acquiring an additional 200,917 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Corteva by 1.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,747,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,863,000 after purchasing an additional 203,126 shares during the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Corteva

Corteva, Inc operates in the agriculture business. It operates through two segments, Seed and Crop Protection. The Seed segment develops and supplies advanced germplasm and traits that produce optimum yield for farms. It offers trait technologies that enhance resistance to weather, disease, insects, and herbicides used to control weeds, as well as food and nutritional characteristics.