Oppenheimer Boosts Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Price Target to $72.00

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) had its price target lifted by Oppenheimer from $70.00 to $72.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on CTVA. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Corteva from $68.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Corteva currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $67.31.

Corteva Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE CTVA opened at $62.32 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $60.22 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.14. Corteva has a 1 year low of $50.01 and a 1 year high of $66.24. The stock has a market cap of $42.83 billion, a PE ratio of 62.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.50 and a quick ratio of 0.96.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 4.18%. Equities analysts anticipate that Corteva will post 2.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.17 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.69%.

Corteva declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Tuesday, November 19th that authorizes the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to buy up to 7.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Corteva in the fourth quarter valued at about $161,052,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in shares of Corteva during the 3rd quarter worth about $99,869,000. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Corteva by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,746,000 after buying an additional 856,007 shares during the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its stake in Corteva by 267.3% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,120,104 shares of the company’s stock worth $65,851,000 after buying an additional 815,135 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Corteva by 2.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,290,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,015,914,000 after acquiring an additional 768,519 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.