Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was the recipient of a large decline in short interest in the month of February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 4,991,541 shares, a decline of 21.3% from the February 12th total of 6,346,495 shares. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 2,564,173 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Based on an average trading volume of 2,564,173 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.9% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Insider Activity at Deere & Company

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total transaction of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,603,920. This trade represents a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total transaction of $20,797,793.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. This trade represents a 26.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DE. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth $27,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in shares of Deere & Company during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Activest Wealth Management boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 69.2% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 66 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 27 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:DE traded down $8.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $577.42. 1,381,710 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,802,881. The company has a market cap of $155.97 billion, a PE ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.96. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $564.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $503.08. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $404.42 and a 12-month high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. The firm had revenue of $9.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.50 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.93% and a net margin of 10.29%.Deere & Company’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 36.53%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

DE has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $535.00 to $775.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $730.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Evercore reiterated a “positive” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Deere & Company from $467.00 to $675.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $644.70.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.