Deere & Company Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NYSE:DE)

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) was the target of some unusual options trading on Thursday. Investors bought 8,393 call options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 35% compared to the average daily volume of 6,198 call options.

Deere & Company Stock Up 2.6 %

NYSE DE traded up $12.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $471.87. 447,364 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,296,988. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $435.34 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $404.30. The stock has a market cap of $128.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.98. Deere & Company has a 1 year low of $340.20 and a 1 year high of $473.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The industrial products company reported $4.55 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.89 by $0.66. The company had revenue of $9.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Deere & Company will post 19.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Deere & Company Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, February 10th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given 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 is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $6.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Deere & Company’s dividend payout ratio is 25.31%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of DE. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 buying an additional 1,782,984 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its position in Deere & Company by 27.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,542,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,895,518,000 after buying an additional 988,380 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its holdings in Deere & Company by 53,338.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 854,484 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $356,602,000 after purchasing an additional 852,885 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Deere & Company by 46,892.9% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 772,094 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $322,218,000 after buying an additional 770,451 shares during the period. Finally, Stockbridge Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Deere & Company by 157.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stockbridge Partners LLC now owns 884,237 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $369,019,000 after purchasing an additional 540,874 shares in the last quarter. 68.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on DE shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Deere & Company from $470.00 to $430.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Deere & Company from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $510.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $401.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 25th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Deere & Company from $400.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Deere & Company from $450.00 to $470.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $442.83.

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.