AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

AGCO Corporation (NYSE:AGCO) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totaling 2,790,000 shares, an increase of 36.1% from the September 30th total of 2,050,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 812,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 812,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.4 days.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on AGCO shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of AGCO from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 2nd. Zacks Research lowered shares of AGCO from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of AGCO from $135.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 14th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of AGCO from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $123.00 target price on shares of AGCO in a research report on Monday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $113.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Luis Fernando Sartini Felli sold 10,000 shares of AGCO stock in a transaction on Monday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.40, for a total value of $1,094,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 16,189 shares in the company, valued at $1,771,076.60. This trade represents a 38.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 16.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of AGCO by 7.4% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,985,474 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $646,648,000 after buying an additional 481,146 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in AGCO by 12.1% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,346,046 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $309,745,000 after purchasing an additional 361,965 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in AGCO by 14.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 3,306,812 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $306,112,000 after purchasing an additional 405,022 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in AGCO by 32.7% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,840,125 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $304,092,000 after purchasing an additional 700,558 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Davis Selected Advisers raised its stake in AGCO by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Davis Selected Advisers now owns 2,027,266 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $187,664,000 after purchasing an additional 35,909 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.80% of the company’s stock.

AGCO Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AGCO traded up $2.07 during trading on Monday, hitting $105.23. 866,029 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 850,842. The company has a market cap of $7.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.53, a PEG ratio of 1.73 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.48 and a quick ratio of 0.67. AGCO has a 1 year low of $73.79 and a 1 year high of $121.16. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $108.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $105.42.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The industrial products company reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.48 billion. AGCO had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 0.98%.The business’s revenue was down 4.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.68 EPS. AGCO has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.000-5.000 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that AGCO will post 4.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

AGCO Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. AGCO’s payout ratio is 23.06%.

AGCO declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, July 9th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the industrial products company to reacquire up to 12.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

AGCO Company Profile

AGCO Corporation manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment and related replacement parts worldwide. It offers horsepower tractors for row crop production, soil cultivation, planting, land leveling, seeding, and commercial hay operations; utility tractors for small- and medium-sized farms, as well as for dairy, livestock, orchards, and vineyards; and compact tractors for small farms, specialty agricultural industries, landscaping, equestrian, and residential uses.