Short Interest in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) Expands By 5.1%

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest in the month of January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 5,360,000 shares, an increase of 5.1% from the January 15th total of 5,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,350,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.0 days. Approximately 2.1% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Deere & Company Trading Up 3.0 %

DE stock traded up $13.95 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $480.17. The company had a trading volume of 1,919,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,347,099. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. Deere & Company has a 52 week low of $340.20 and a 52 week high of $485.84. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $446.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $416.83. The stock has a market cap of $130.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.98.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The industrial products company reported $3.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.14 by $0.05. Deere & Company had a return on equity of 31.32% and a net margin of 13.73%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Deere & Company will post 19.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $1.62 dividend. This is an increase from Deere & Company’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.47. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is currently 25.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Deere & Company in the 4th quarter valued at $1,244,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 7,352,465 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,068,404,000 after purchasing an additional 1,782,984 shares during the last quarter. Castlekeep Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Deere & Company during the 4th quarter valued at about $541,437,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in Deere & Company by 19.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,589,760 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,792,082,000 after buying an additional 1,095,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Deere & Company by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,581,408 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $2,364,843,000 after purchasing an additional 1,039,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 68.58% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on DE. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Friday, December 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Deere & Company from $470.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 10th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $477.00 to $507.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $430.00 to $480.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $450.12.

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.