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

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $67.73.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CTVA shares. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Corteva from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th. BNP Paribas upgraded Corteva to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their target price on Corteva from $62.00 to $64.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their price objective on Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 7th.

Corteva Price Performance

Shares of NYSE CTVA opened at $63.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Corteva has a fifty-two week low of $50.01 and a fifty-two week high of $66.24. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $60.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.74. The firm has a market cap of $43.72 billion, a PE ratio of 49.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.78.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a return on equity of 7.19% and a net margin of 5.36%. Sell-side analysts expect that Corteva will post 2.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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

Corteva Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.17 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Corteva’s payout ratio is 52.71%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Corteva

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning boosted its stake in Corteva by 1.3% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 139,342 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,192,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of Corteva by 23.1% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 505,375 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,711,000 after purchasing an additional 94,689 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of Corteva by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 48,470 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,850,000 after purchasing an additional 7,923 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Corteva by 31.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 22,682 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 5,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Corteva during the third quarter valued at approximately $332,000. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.