Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Short Interest Up 10.7% in March

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) saw a large increase in short interest in March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 3,000,000 shares, an increase of 10.7% from the March 15th total of 2,710,000 shares. Currently, 1.2% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,500,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

NYSE DE opened at $393.11 on Wednesday. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $345.55 and a 1 year high of $450.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $109.43 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a fifty day moving average of $384.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $382.56.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.19 by $1.04. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 44.60% and a net margin of 16.38%. The firm had revenue of $10.49 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.55 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 27.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 29th will be given a dividend of $1.47 per share. This represents a $5.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 27th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 17.12%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. increased its position in Deere & Company by 21.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinnacle Associates Ltd. now owns 5,355 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,141,000 after acquiring an additional 939 shares during the period. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 2.4% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 236,696 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $89,322,000 after purchasing an additional 5,485 shares during the last quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lifted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 6.9% during the third quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board now owns 14,002 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $5,284,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. Centric Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter worth $2,640,000. Finally, Graham Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Deere & Company by 483.3% in the 3rd quarter. Graham Capital Management L.P. now owns 17,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $6,604,000 after buying an additional 14,500 shares during the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on DE shares. Melius Research restated a “hold” rating on shares of Deere & Company in a research report on Monday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Deere & Company from $445.00 to $425.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Melius lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $425.00 to $401.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $433.28.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.