5 Most Profitable Industrial Stocks Now

3. Deere & Company (NYSE:DE)

Number of Hedge Fund Holders: 63

Deere & Company (NYSE:DE), doing business as John Deere, is an American corporation that manufactures agricultural machinery, heavy equipment, forestry machinery, diesel engines, drivetrains used in heavy equipment, and lawn care equipment. The company also provides financial services and other related activities.

On February 22, Argus raised the price target on Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) to $485 from $475 and kept a Buy rating on the shares. According to the firm, the company’s management is well-versed in, and does a good job of, managing the factors it can control, which include pricing and costs. The firm further states that the company’s sales and earnings are benefitting in the current environment from relatively high commodity prices while its volumes are seemingly on the rise.

According to Insider Monkey’s data, 63 hedge funds were long Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) at the end of the fourth quarter of 2022, compared to 57 funds in the last quarter. Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Trust is the biggest stakeholder of the company, with almost 4 million shares worth $1.67 billion.

ClearBridge Investments made the following comment about Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) in its Q4 2022 investor letter:

“Our industrials holdings produced robust absolute returns for the quarter. While the ISM Manufacturing Index fell in November to contractionary levels, our industrial holdings have largely been able to maintain earnings due to strong competitive positions, historically large backlogs and company-specific drivers. For example, Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) continues to benefit from a strong upgrade cycle as record farmers’ income is driving broad and rapid adoption of the company’s precision agricultural equipment.”