Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Cut to “Hold” at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Corteva from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $67.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 2nd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Corteva in a research note on Wednesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley set a $84.00 target price on Corteva in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Corteva from $80.00 to $77.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Corteva presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $78.05.

Corteva Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of Corteva stock opened at $66.71 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.69. Corteva has a 12-month low of $53.40 and a 12-month high of $77.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.58, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported ($0.23) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.49) by $0.26. The business had revenue of $2.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.47 billion. Corteva had a return on equity of 9.37% and a net margin of 9.19%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.49) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Corteva will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a $0.18 dividend. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, December 1st. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.77%.

Insider Activity at Corteva

In other news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $2,766,176.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 49,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,655,240.40. This represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Gladwyn Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Corteva during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Activest Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Corteva by 118.3% during the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 369 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. JPL Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corteva in the third quarter worth about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 209.5% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 390 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Total Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Corteva in the second quarter valued at approximately $27,000. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corteva Company Profile

Corteva, Inc operates in the agriculture business. It operates through two segments, Seed and Crop Protection. The Seed segment develops and supplies advanced germplasm and traits that produce optimum yield for farms. It offers trait technologies that enhance resistance to weather, disease, insects, and herbicides used to control weeds, as well as food and nutritional characteristics.