Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.05 EPS

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday. The industrial products company reported $3.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05, Zacks reports. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE DE traded down $2.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $473.68. The company had a trading volume of 1,876,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,363,170. The company has a market capitalization of $129.01 billion, a PE ratio of 18.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a twelve month low of $340.20 and a twelve month high of $485.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $445.86 and a 200-day moving average price of $415.14.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.37%. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Deere & Company’s payout ratio is presently 25.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lifted their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Deere & Company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $446.17.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Co engages in the manufacture and distribution of equipment used in agriculture, construction, forestry, and turf care. It operates through the following segments: Agriculture and Turf, Construction and Forestry, and Financial Services. The Agriculture and Turf segment focuses on the distribution and manufacture of a full line of agriculture and turf equipment and related service parts.