Corteva Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:CTVA)

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) was the target of some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors purchased 2,465 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 197% compared to the average volume of 831 put options.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Corteva in the 2nd quarter worth about $4,639,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Corteva by 62.8% during the 2nd quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,444,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $77,931,000 after acquiring an additional 557,571 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Corteva by 10.6% in the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 9,460 shares of the company’s stock worth $510,000 after acquiring an additional 905 shares during the last quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP lifted its holdings in Corteva by 10.2% during the second quarter. Brandes Investment Partners LP now owns 2,868,735 shares of the company’s stock valued at $154,691,000 after purchasing an additional 265,411 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in Corteva during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $420,000. 81.54% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Corteva Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE CTVA opened at $55.15 on Thursday. Corteva has a 52-week low of $43.22 and a 52-week high of $58.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 1.72. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $53.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.63. The company has a market capitalization of $38.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 0.77.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. Corteva had a return on equity of 7.30% and a net margin of 5.31%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Corteva will post 2.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.17 per share. This is an increase from Corteva’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 3rd. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.23%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio is presently 86.08%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CTVA has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Corteva from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Corteva from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Corteva from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Corteva in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Argus downgraded Corteva from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $61.67.

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.