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

Bank of America upgraded shares of Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat reports. Bank of America currently has $67.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $59.00.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on CTVA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Corteva from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Corteva from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $65.00 target price on shares of Corteva in a report on Tuesday, September 24th. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of Corteva from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Argus cut shares of Corteva from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $62.21.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:CTVA opened at $58.95 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. The stock has a market capitalization 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 firm’s 50 day moving average price is $56.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $55.05. Corteva has a twelve month low of $43.22 and a twelve month high of $59.08.

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

Corteva Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were given a $0.17 dividend. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a boost from Corteva’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Corteva’s payout ratio is currently 86.08%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CTVA. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Corteva during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,270,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Corteva by 14.7% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 948,127 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,678,000 after purchasing an additional 121,817 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corteva in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,965,000. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Corteva by 69.5% during the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 52,557 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,031,000 after purchasing an additional 21,545 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its holdings in Corteva by 295.9% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 94,896 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,473,000 after buying an additional 70,924 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

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.