Econ Financial Services Corp Makes New Investment in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA)

Econ Financial Services Corp purchased a new position in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 11,251 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $641,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Corteva in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 44.4% in the third quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 566 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares during the period. First Financial Corp IN bought a new position in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Albion Financial Group UT grew its position in shares of Corteva by 112.6% during the fourth quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 606 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 321 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. lifted its holdings in Corteva by 159.6% in the 4th quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 732 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 450 shares in the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corteva Trading Up 1.8 %

CTVA stock opened at $65.79 on Wednesday. Corteva, Inc. has a twelve month low of $50.01 and a twelve month high of $66.24. 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 firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $60.20 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 66.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Corteva declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 19th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Corteva’s payout ratio is currently 68.69%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CTVA. KeyCorp cut their price objective on shares of Corteva from $69.00 to $68.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up from $69.00) on shares of Corteva in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.06.

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.