Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Cut to "Sell" at Wall Street Zen

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

DE has been the subject of several other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $450.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $460.00 price objective (up from $425.00) on shares of Deere & Company in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $475.00 to $530.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $490.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $455.00 to $493.00 and gave the company an "in-line" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $515.19.

Deere & Company Stock Performance

Deere & Company stock traded up $2.32 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $505.77. 1,686,451 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,404,510. The company has a current ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $475.54 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $462.00. The firm has a market cap of $137.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.08. Deere & Company has a fifty-two week low of $340.20 and a fifty-two week high of $533.78.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 15th. The industrial products company reported $6.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.72 by $0.92. The firm had revenue of $11.17 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $10.80 billion. Deere & Company had a net margin of 12.94% and a return on equity of 27.31%. Deere & Company's revenue was down 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $8.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Deere & Company will post 19.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Deere & Company

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Activest Wealth Management grew its position in Deere & Company by 2,750.0% during the first quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 57 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares in the last quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 60.5% during the 4th quarter. Pineridge Advisors LLC now owns 69 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 26 shares in the last quarter. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Deere & Company during the first quarter worth $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 116.1% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 67 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership acquired a new stake in Deere & Company during the fourth quarter valued at $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.58% of the company's stock.

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.