Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Short Interest Up 10.6% in September

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was the target of a large growth in short interest in September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 5,520,000 shares, a growth of 10.6% from the September 15th total of 4,990,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,450,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.8 days. Approximately 2.2% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock opened at $407.72 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $340.20 and a 12-month high of $420.47. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $388.27 and a 200-day moving average of $385.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $112.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 36.71% and a net margin of 14.69%. The company had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $10.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.03 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 17.70%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 20.5% during the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 15,808 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,906,000 after acquiring an additional 2,692 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC increased its stake in Deere & Company by 27.4% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $710,000 after buying an additional 372 shares during the last quarter. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the 1st quarter worth about $2,783,000. Range Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Range Financial Group LLC now owns 548 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,000 after buying an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Royal Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 99.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 6,454 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,694,000 after acquiring an additional 3,223 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on DE shares. Oppenheimer decreased their target price on Deere & Company from $465.00 to $448.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 26th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, August 9th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $400.00 target price on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $371.00 to $378.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $420.69.

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.