Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $71.11 and last traded at $70.93, with a volume of 2503117 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $70.63.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Corteva in a report on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $71.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Corteva from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Corteva from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on shares of Corteva from $72.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.50.

Corteva Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average is $63.84 and its 200-day moving average is $61.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.45 and a quick ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $48.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.72.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.25. Corteva had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 7.19%. The company had revenue of $4.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.56 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Corteva, Inc. will post 2.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. Corteva's dividend payout ratio is currently 41.46%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 2,874.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,812,151 shares of the company's stock worth $729,780,000 after buying an additional 12,381,436 shares in the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corteva in the first quarter worth $640,333,000. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 16,496,508 shares of the company's stock worth $939,641,000 after buying an additional 5,604,838 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter worth $251,892,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter worth $161,052,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.54% of the company's stock.

About Corteva

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.