SFE Investment Counsel Cuts Stock Position in Deere & Company $DE

SFE Investment Counsel cut its stake in shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) by 79.7% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 834 shares of the industrial products company’s stock after selling 3,265 shares during the period. SFE Investment Counsel’s holdings in Deere & Company were worth $470,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Advocates LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Key Capital Management INC purchased a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Portus Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Deere & Company during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on DE shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $752.00 target price on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Monday, June 1st. Wall Street Zen upgraded Deere & Company from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, July 5th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Deere & Company from $625.00 to $595.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $560.00 to $590.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $580.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Deere & Company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $642.23.

Key Deere & Company News

Here are the key news stories impacting Deere & Company this week:

• Positive Sentiment: D.A. Davidson’s new coverage on AGCO highlighted that weak farm conditions can still support equipment makers like Deere, reinforcing the view that replacement demand and pricing power may hold up better than expected for agricultural OEMs. Farming Is Terrible Right Now. That’s Good for Deere and AGCO Stocks.
• Positive Sentiment: Jim Cramer was upbeat on Deere, calling the stock “incredible” and suggesting it still has room to go higher, which may help sentiment around the shares. Jim Cramer on Deere & Company: “The Stock Is Incredible, and It’s Not Done Going Higher”
• Neutral Sentiment: An analyst report on Deere was published, but no clear thesis or rating details were provided in the feed, so it is likely a limited near-term catalyst. Analyst Report: Deere & Co
• Negative Sentiment: Deere settled a right-to-repair dispute with the FTC, requiring it to provide farmers and independent repair providers the same repair resources as authorized dealers for 10 years. Investors may see this as a hit to Deere’s control over service revenue and after-sales economics. Deere settles right to repair dispute with FTC

Deere & Company Price Performance

Shares of DE stock traded down $5.54 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $587.36. The company had a trading volume of 782,098 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,174,307. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.54, a quick ratio of 1.95 and a current ratio of 2.18. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $581.74 and a 200-day moving average of $566.99. The company has a market capitalization of $158.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.28, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.89. Deere & Company has a 12-month low of $433.00 and a 12-month high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 21st. The industrial products company reported $6.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.70 by $0.85. The firm had revenue of $13.37 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $11.55 billion. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 18.25% and a net margin of 10.09%.The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $6.64 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 18.13 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is currently 36.71%.

Deere & Company Profile

Deere & Company, commonly known by its brand John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction and forestry machinery, as well as turf care equipment and power systems. Founded in 1837 by blacksmith John Deere—who developed a polished steel plow to improve tillage in tough prairie soils—the company is headquartered in Moline, Illinois, and has grown into one of the largest and most recognizable names in equipment manufacturing worldwide.

The company’s principal businesses include a broad portfolio of agricultural equipment such as tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesters and tillage implements, complemented by precision agriculture technologies and telematics that support farm management, yield optimization and equipment connectivity.