Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Reaches New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Deere & Company (NYSE:DEGet Free Report)’s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $472.90 and last traded at $472.41, with a volume of 328167 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $459.75.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Barclays lifted their price target on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, November 25th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $442.83.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on Deere & Company

Deere & Company Stock Up 0.9 %

The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $438.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $405.66. The company has a market cap of $130.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DEGet Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.26 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $1.62 dividend. This is a boost from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.35%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 25.31%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Deere & Company by 148.3% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,223 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,179,000 after acquiring an additional 7,300 shares during the period. Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its position in Deere & Company by 157.5% in the third quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after buying an additional 540,874 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in Deere & Company by 1.5% in the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 86,952 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,288,000 after buying an additional 1,291 shares during the last quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp increased its holdings in Deere & Company by 53.8% in the 3rd quarter. Chase Investment Counsel Corp now owns 4,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Finally, Czech National Bank raised its position in Deere & Company by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,170 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $23,376,000 after buying an additional 2,964 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Deere & Company Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Further Reading

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