Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $476.56, but opened at $454.50. Deere & Company shares last traded at $462.95, with a volume of 678,543 shares.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $546.00 price objective (down previously from $550.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $448.72.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $130.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.90. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $446.95 and a 200 day moving average of $416.21.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 19.38 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.35%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Deere & Company by 19.9% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,792,082,000 after buying an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors raised its stake in Deere & Company by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,058,259 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,566,884,000 after buying an additional 157,224 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,364,843,000 after buying an additional 1,039,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Deere & Company by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,305,571 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $2,247,216,000 after buying an additional 97,203 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently 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.