Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Upgraded to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Melius Research raised shares of Deere & Company from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $460.00 target price (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $520.00 to $488.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $500.00 to $495.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $520.87.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE opened at $471.35 on Friday. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $386.42 and a 1-year high of $533.78. The stock has a market cap of $127.42 billion, a PE ratio of 24.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.76, a current ratio of 2.19 and a quick ratio of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $497.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $490.32.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 14th. The industrial products company reported $4.75 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.62 by $0.13. Deere & Company had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 21.97%. The firm had revenue of $10.36 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $10.33 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $6.29 earnings per share. Deere & Company’s quarterly revenue was down 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.87%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Southland Equity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 3.9% during the second quarter. Southland Equity Partners LLC now owns 534 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $271,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.9% during the second quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,088 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 3.0% during the second quarter. Werba Rubin Papier Wealth Management now owns 676 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 2.1% during the second quarter. Prairie Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 964 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in Deere & Company by 1.2% during the first quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC now owns 1,803 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $852,000 after purchasing an additional 21 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.