Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Short Interest Update

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) saw a large growth in short interest during the month of 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. Currently, 2.2% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,450,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.8 days.

Deere & Company Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of DE traded down $4.10 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $405.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,397,562 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,474,188. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $390.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $385.36. The company has a quick ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.85. The stock has a market cap of $111.68 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.92. Deere & Company has a 1-year low of $340.20 and a 1-year high of $420.47.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.63 by $0.66. Deere & Company had a net margin of 14.69% and a return on equity of 36.71%. The business had revenue of $11.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $10.20 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 20.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 25.03 EPS for the current fiscal 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 issued a $1.47 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 30th. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. HSBC cut shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 19th. Raymond James initiated coverage on Deere & Company in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $420.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup raised their target price on Deere & Company from $395.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $410.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Deere & Company from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Twelve analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $420.69.

Institutional Trading of Deere & Company

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Deere & Company by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,988,363 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $9,031,500,000 after buying an additional 263,709 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.5% during the first quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 3,859,021 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,585,028,000 after acquiring an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.7% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,254,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $842,259,000 after acquiring an additional 60,255 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Deere & Company by 15.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,146,441 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $802,037,000 after purchasing an additional 279,627 shares during the period. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Deere & Company by 8.4% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,470,159 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $603,854,000 after purchasing an additional 114,116 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

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.