Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Sees Significant Increase in Short Interest

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,280,000 shares, an increase of 7.5% from the August 15th total of 2,120,000 shares. Approximately 0.9% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 1,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Deere & Company

In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total value of $2,104,830.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,444,209.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Deere & Company news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total value of $2,104,830.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 36,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,444,209.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $416.02, for a total transaction of $22,035,331.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 109,126 shares in the company, valued at $45,398,598.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Everett Harris & Co. CA raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.5% during the first quarter. Everett Harris & Co. CA now owns 3,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,240,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 122.7% during the first quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 7,528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after acquiring an additional 4,147 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 6.8% during the first quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 23,705 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,781,000 after acquiring an additional 1,511 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 9.3% during the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 24,638 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $10,173,000 after acquiring an additional 2,103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 8.0% during the first quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 143,047 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $59,061,000 after acquiring an additional 10,584 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Credit Suisse Group decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $551.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 21st. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $390.00 to $380.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Finally, DA Davidson increased their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $492.00 to $510.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $459.90.

Deere & Company Price Performance

Deere & Company stock traded down $11.27 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $399.57. The company had a trading volume of 442,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,151. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $328.62 and a fifty-two week high of $450.00. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The company has a market cap of $115.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $417.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $398.87.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, August 18th. The industrial products company reported $10.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.22 by $1.98. Deere & Company had a net margin of 16.36% and a return on equity of 46.15%. The firm had revenue of $14.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 33.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 29th will be given a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.25. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.78%.

Deere & Company Company Profile

Deere & Company manufactures and distributes 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 mid-size tractors, combines, cotton pickers and strippers, sugarcane harvesters, harvesting front-end equipment, sugarcane loaders, 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.