Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Announces Earnings Results

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.49) by $0.26, Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $2.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.47 billion. Corteva had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.49) earnings per share.

Corteva Stock Up 2.3%

NYSE:CTVA traded up $1.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $63.95. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,167,702 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,032,000. Corteva has a 1 year low of $53.40 and a 1 year high of $77.41. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $67.06 and a 200-day moving average of $69.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.43 billion, a PE ratio of 31.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be paid a $0.18 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio is 35.12%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total value of $2,766,176.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,655,240.40. This represents a 43.08% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Raymond James Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Corteva by 1.5% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,861,876 shares of the company’s stock worth $213,296,000 after purchasing an additional 42,389 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in Corteva by 82.0% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 748,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,822,000 after purchasing an additional 337,407 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Corteva by 409.3% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 732,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,456,000 after purchasing an additional 588,708 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Corteva by 32.4% in the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 501,402 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,369,000 after purchasing an additional 122,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Corteva by 12.7% in the second quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 250,060 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,637,000 after purchasing an additional 28,161 shares in the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on CTVA. Argus lowered their target price on shares of Corteva from $83.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Barclays raised shares of Corteva from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $75.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Corteva from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 18th. Oppenheimer lowered their target price on shares of Corteva from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Corteva from $86.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $79.65.

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.