Short Interest in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Drops By 21.3%

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) saw a significant decrease in short interest in February. As of February 27th, there was short interest totaling 4,991,541 shares, a decrease of 21.3% from the February 12th total of 6,346,495 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,564,173 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Approximately 1.9% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 2,564,173 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 1.9 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on DE shares. Argus raised their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $540.00 to $700.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Zacks Research upgraded Deere & Company from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Deere & Company from $543.00 to $750.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. Wolfe Research increased their price target on Deere & Company from $520.00 to $550.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 2nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Deere & Company from $480.00 to $460.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 19th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Deere & Company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $644.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Cory J. Reed sold 12,000 shares of Deere & Company stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $510.00, for a total value of $6,120,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 20,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,603,920. The trade was a 36.59% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John C. May II sold 41,472 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $501.49, for a total value of $20,797,793.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 117,970 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,160,775.30. The trade was a 26.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in DE. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Deere & Company in the 2nd quarter valued at $27,000. Strategic Advocates LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Key Capital Management INC acquired a new position in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Timmons Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Stock Down 1.4%

DE stock traded down $8.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $577.42. 1,381,710 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,802,881. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $564.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $503.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.59. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 0.96. Deere & Company has a 52-week low of $404.42 and a 52-week high of $674.19.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $2.42 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.52. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.29% and a return on equity of 18.93%. The company had revenue of $9.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.32 EPS for the current year.

Deere & Company Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, May 8th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $1.62 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.53%.

About Deere & Company

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.