Short Interest in Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) Expands By 11.0%

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 8,560,000 shares, an increase of 11.0% from the August 31st total of 7,710,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,920,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.9 days. Approximately 1.2% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Corteva Price Performance

CTVA traded up $0.56 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $58.58. The company had a trading volume of 2,434,492 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,329,683. Corteva has a twelve month low of $43.22 and a twelve month high of $59.08. The company has a market capitalization of $40.83 billion, a PE ratio of 74.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.77. 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 firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $55.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.88.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The company reported $1.83 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.74 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $6.11 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.15 billion. Corteva had a net margin of 5.31% and a return on equity of 7.30%. Corteva’s revenue was up 1.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Corteva will post 2.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.17 per share. This represents a $0.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 3rd. This is a positive change from Corteva’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.16. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio is 86.08%.

Institutional Trading of Corteva

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Corteva during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Corteva in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Corteva by 2,522.2% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 472 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 454 shares during the period. Albion Financial Group UT boosted its holdings in Corteva by 77.2% during the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Corteva by 106.1% during the 1st quarter. Ironwood Wealth Management Inc. now owns 544 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 280 shares during the period. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CTVA. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $65.00 price target on shares of Corteva in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Corteva from $61.00 to $60.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Corteva from $67.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Argus cut Corteva from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Corteva from $57.00 to $55.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Corteva has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $61.94.

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.