Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $69.64.

CTVA has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Corteva in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Corteva from $65.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Corteva from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday.

Corteva Stock Up 1.3%

Shares of Corteva stock opened at $67.70 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $46.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.48, a PEG ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.45. Corteva has a one year low of $50.01 and a one year high of $67.93. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.87 and a two-hundred day moving average of $60.74.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The company reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.25. Corteva had a net margin of 5.36% and a return on equity of 7.19%. The firm had revenue of $4.42 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.56 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Corteva will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 41.46%.

Insider Transactions at Corteva

In related news, insider Brian Titus sold 26,560 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.74, for a total value of $1,692,934.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 11,347 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $723,257.78. This trade represents a 70.07% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CTVA. Capital World Investors lifted its position in Corteva by 2,874.6% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 12,812,151 shares of the company’s stock worth $729,780,000 after purchasing an additional 12,381,436 shares during the period. Independent Franchise Partners LLP lifted its position in Corteva by 51.5% in the fourth quarter. Independent Franchise Partners LLP now owns 16,496,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $939,641,000 after purchasing an additional 5,604,838 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in Corteva in the fourth quarter worth $251,892,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Corteva during the fourth quarter valued at $161,052,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 16,143,025 shares of the company’s stock valued at $919,507,000 after acquiring an additional 1,354,418 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Corteva

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.