Short Interest in AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO) Increases By 8.5%

AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO) was the target of a large increase in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 4,990,000 shares, an increase of 8.5% from the November 30th total of 4,600,000 shares. Currently, 8.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 949,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.3 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGCO

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of AGCO by 28.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 526 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its holdings in AGCO by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 17,022 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,666,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of AGCO by 50.2% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 416 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Hodges Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in AGCO by 0.8% in the second quarter. Hodges Capital Management Inc. now owns 17,520 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,715,000 after buying an additional 143 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in AGCO by 0.4% in the second quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 38,750 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $3,793,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.80% of the company’s stock.

AGCO Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AGCO stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $93.48. 473,742 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 817,883. AGCO has a 1-year low of $84.35 and a 1-year high of $130.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.53 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.87. The company has a market cap of $6.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.56 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.38 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.43.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, November 5th. The industrial products company reported $0.68 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.40). The company had revenue of $2.60 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.90 billion. AGCO had a net margin of 1.35% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 24.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.97 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that AGCO will post 7.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

AGCO Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 15th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.24%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 15th. AGCO’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 51.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on AGCO. StockNews.com raised AGCO from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on AGCO from $112.00 to $99.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on AGCO from $110.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of AGCO from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of AGCO in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $101.00 price objective for the company. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, AGCO has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $108.10.

About AGCO

AGCO Corporation manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment and related replacement parts worldwide. It offers horsepower tractors for row crop production, soil cultivation, planting, land leveling, seeding, and commercial hay operations; utility tractors for small- and medium-sized farms, as well as for dairy, livestock, orchards, and vineyards; and compact tractors for small farms, specialty agricultural industries, landscaping, equestrian, and residential uses.