Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on CTVA. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Corteva in a report on Monday, August 11th. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Corteva in a research report on Friday, June 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Corteva from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Corteva from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $86.00 price objective on shares of Corteva in a report on Monday, September 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.67.

Corteva Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:CTVA opened at $63.36 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.24 and a 200 day moving average of $68.85. The company has a market cap of $43.03 billion, a PE ratio of 30.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.76. Corteva has a 12-month low of $53.40 and a 12-month high of $77.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.06.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The company reported $2.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.31. The business had revenue of $6.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.26 billion. Corteva had a net margin of 8.16% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Corteva will post 2.96 EPS for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.18 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 2nd. This represents a $0.72 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. This is a boost from Corteva’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.17. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.12%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert D. King sold 37,280 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.20, for a total transaction of $2,766,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 49,262 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,655,240.40. This represents a 43.08% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Corteva by 8.1% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 7,814 shares of the company’s stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 587 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Corteva by 6.2% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 18,290 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Caldwell Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Corteva in the second quarter valued at $279,000. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Corteva by 3.8% in the 2nd quarter. Reynders McVeigh Capital Management LLC now owns 5,573 shares of the company’s stock worth $415,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Corteva by 22.0% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 179,933 shares of the company’s stock worth $13,361,000 after purchasing an additional 32,419 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.54% of the company’s stock.

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.