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

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during 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 daily volume of 1,490,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.5 days.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE traded down $11.27 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $399.57. The company had a trading volume of 442,131 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,151. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $417.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $398.87. The company has a quick ratio of 1.74, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $115.08 billion, a PE ratio of 12.14, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 1.07. Deere & Company has a one year low of $328.62 and a one year high of $450.00.

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

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, November 8th. Investors of record on Friday, September 29th will be issued a $1.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, September 28th. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently commented on DE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Deere & Company from $510.00 to $490.00 in a report on Monday, May 22nd. Oppenheimer cut their price target on Deere & Company from $467.00 to $458.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 21st. Canaccord Genuity Group started coverage on Deere & Company in a research report on Wednesday, June 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $530.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $425.00 in a research report on Monday, June 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Deere & Company from $493.00 to $460.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $459.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total value of $2,104,830.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 36,563 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,444,209.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, CEO John C. May II sold 52,967 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 22nd. The stock was 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Cory J. Reed sold 4,680 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $449.75, for a total value of $2,104,830.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,563 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,444,209.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of DE. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich raised its position in Deere & Company by 98,818.3% in the 2nd quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 15,922,881 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $6,451,792,000 after purchasing an additional 15,906,784 shares during the last quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 41,880.9% in the 1st quarter. Providence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,703,524 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $13,814,000 after purchasing an additional 5,689,938 shares during the last quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Deere & Company by 104,373.8% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,219,883 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,380,557,000 after purchasing an additional 3,216,801 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,326,177,000. Finally, Altshuler Shaham Ltd raised its position in Deere & Company by 193.0% in the 2nd quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd now owns 936,581 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $379,493,000 after purchasing an additional 616,893 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 66.27% of the company’s stock.

About Deere & Company

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.