Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Shares Gap Down After Earnings Miss

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $65.70, but opened at $63.36. Corteva shares last traded at $64.60, with a volume of 195,609 shares traded.

The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 4.18%.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. Corteva’s payout ratio is 68.69%.

Corteva declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Tuesday, November 19th that permits the company to repurchase $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on CTVA. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Corteva from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corteva currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.06.

Institutional Trading of Corteva

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Corteva during the 4th quarter valued at $161,052,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG bought a new position in Corteva in the third quarter valued at about $99,869,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Corteva by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,746,000 after purchasing an additional 856,007 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Corteva by 267.3% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,120,104 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,851,000 after purchasing an additional 815,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,290,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,015,914,000 after purchasing an additional 768,519 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corteva Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $60.22 and its 200-day moving average is $58.14. The company has a quick ratio of 0.96, a current ratio of 1.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The company has a market cap of $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 63.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.78.

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.