Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: 17 of 25 analysts rate Deere & Company a buy, while eight recommend holding the stock. The average 12-month price target is $686.10, modestly above the reported $673.70 share price.
• Deere exceeded quarterly expectations: The company reported adjusted earnings of $5.10 per share versus the $4.69 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 6.2% year over year to $12.61 billion.
• Institutional ownership remains substantial: Institutional investors and hedge funds own 68.58% of Deere’s shares, with major firms including BlackRock, State Street and Capital World Investors holding significant positions. Deere also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.62 per share, yielding about 1.0% annually.

Shares of Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-five research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $686.10.

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on DE shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 22nd. Bank of America increased their price target on Deere & Company from $667.00 to $715.00 in a research report on Thursday, September 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Deere & Company from $570.00 to $585.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on Deere & Company from $640.00 to $675.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on Deere & Company from $610.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 21st.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Deere & Company

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $11,763,504,000. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Deere & Company by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,485,949 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $4,898,717,000 after acquiring an additional 97,049 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors increased its stake in Deere & Company by 53.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 9,592,004 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,465,906,000 after acquiring an additional 3,358,264 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Deere & Company by 84.3% in the second quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,088,628 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,959,209,000 after acquiring an additional 1,412,694 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in Deere & Company during the second quarter worth $1,685,093,000. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Deere & Company Price Performance

NYSE:DE opened at $673.70 on Thursday. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $433.00 and a 52 week high of $721.22. The firm has a market cap of $181.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.90. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $648.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $605.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 2.10.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 20th. The industrial products company reported $5.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.69 by $0.41. Deere & Company had a net margin of 10.16% and a return on equity of 18.10%. The business had revenue of $12.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $10.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $4.75 EPS. The business's revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Deere & Company will post 18.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Deere & Company Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, September 30th will be paid a $1.62 dividend. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 30th. Deere & Company's payout ratio is 36.00%.

About Deere & Company

Deere & Company, commonly known as John Deere, is a global manufacturer of agricultural, construction, forestry and turf-care equipment. The company's products include tractors, combines, planters, sprayers, harvesting equipment, earthmoving machinery, forestry equipment, commercial and residential lawn-care products, and related technology solutions.

Deere operates through businesses serving production and precision agriculture, small agriculture and turf, and construction and forestry markets.

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