1. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)
Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 54
Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) manufactures and distributes various equipment worldwide. The company operates through four segments: Production & Precision Agriculture, Small Agriculture & Turf, Construction & Forestry, and Financial Services. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is one of the leading manufacturers of tractors, cotton pickers, sugarcane harvesters, harvesting front-end equipment, sugarcane loaders, pull-behind scrapers, and tillage & seeding equipment. As of August 22, Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) shares have gained 6.24% year-to-date.
On August 19, Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) announced strong fiscal third quarter 2022 results. The company’s earnings per share came in at $6.16, while it generated revenue of $13 billion, up 24.84% year-over-year and beating Wall Street’s expectations by $158 million. As of August 22, the stock has a forward dividend yield of 1.22%.
On August 22, Evercore ISI analyst David Raso raised his price target on Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) to $439 from $416 and reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating on the shares. The analyst noted that Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) is one of his “Top 5 Favorites”. The analyst also raised his EPS estimate for fiscal 2023 to $28.33 from $26.31 and for fiscal 2024 to $31.70 from $28.28.
At the close of Q2 2022, 54 hedge funds were long Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) with stakes worth $1.58 billion. As of June 30, First Eagle Investment Management is the leading shareholder in Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), owning roughly 1 million shares of the company. The investment covers 0.83% of the fund’s 13F portfolio.
Here is what ClearBridge Investments had to say about Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in its second-quarter 2022 investor letter:
“In our engagements with farm equipment maker Deere (NYSE:DE), we have followed new technology as it has developed from early promise of environmental and social benefits to market reality. In March 2022, Deere’s Chairman & CEO and CFO met with ClearBridge’s investment team in our New York offices. While prior to the pandemic we had regularly hosted the company, this meeting was among the most interesting as the relatively new CEO outlined a bold plan that placed improved environmental stewardship squarely at the center of the company’s future.
Industrial farming, at its core, is not an especially environmentally friendly enterprise. Agronomic practices have improved over time, but fertilizer, herbicide and pesticide applications and water usage remain problematic. Deere believes its precision farming technology can drive down chemical and fertilizer volumes materially —possibly by as much as 70% — as sensors and cameras attached to tractors, sprayers and combines help determine the exact level of chemicals that might be required…” (Click here to see the full text)
You can also take a look at the Top 10 Agriculture Stocks To Buy Now and 10 Healthy and Sustainable Food Stocks to Buy.
