Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Short Interest Up 7.9% in December

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,340,000 shares, an increase of 7.9% from the December 15th total of 4,950,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 1,180,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.5 days. Currently, 2.1% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Shares of DE traded up $17.46 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $456.57. The stock had a trading volume of 2,315,484 shares, compared to its average volume of 906,286. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $469.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The company has a market cap of $124.35 billion, a PE ratio of 17.83, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.98. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $431.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $402.25.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.89 by $0.66. The firm had revenue of $9.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $9.20 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 13.73% and a return on equity of 31.32%. The firm’s revenue was down 32.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $8.26 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $1.62 per share. This is a positive change from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 25.31%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on DE. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $404.00 to $462.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, November 25th. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $538.00 to $550.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, December 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $442.83.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new position in Deere & Company during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Modus Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Deere & Company in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Centennial Bank AR boosted its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 420.0% during the second quarter. Centennial Bank AR now owns 104 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Deere & Company by 155.8% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Deere & Company Company Profile

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.