Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Upgraded to Buy by Bank of America

Bank of America upgraded shares of Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report published on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $67.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $59.00.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on CTVA. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Corteva from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus cut Corteva from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. KeyCorp dropped their price target on Corteva from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Corteva from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Corteva from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.21.

Corteva Stock Performance

NYSE:CTVA opened at $58.95 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.72. Corteva has a fifty-two week low of $43.22 and a fifty-two week high of $59.08. The firm has a market cap of $41.09 billion, a PE ratio of 74.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.66 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $56.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $55.05.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. Corteva had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 7.30%. The business had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Corteva will post 2.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is a boost from Corteva’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTVA. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Corteva during the fourth quarter valued at $364,000. Congress Asset Management Co. MA lifted its stake in Corteva by 28.8% during the 4th quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 8,500 shares of the company’s stock valued at $407,000 after acquiring an additional 1,900 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 39.1% during the 4th quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,380 shares of the company’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 2,635 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter worth approximately $681,000. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH purchased a new position in shares of Corteva during the first quarter valued at approximately $208,000. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corteva Company Profile

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.