AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO) Short Interest Up 9.5% in June

AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO) saw a significant growth in short interest in June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,200,000 shares, a growth of 9.5% from the May 31st total of 2,010,000 shares. Currently, 3.6% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 744,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.0 days.

AGCO Stock Performance

AGCO stock opened at $96.62 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $114.01. AGCO has a 12-month low of $95.03 and a 12-month high of $140.46. The firm has a market cap of $7.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.54, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) last issued its earnings results on Monday, May 6th. The industrial products company reported $2.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.29 by $0.03. AGCO had a net margin of 7.90% and a return on equity of 24.02%. The company had revenue of $2.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.99 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.51 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that AGCO will post 11.78 EPS for the current year.

AGCO Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 14th. This represents a yield of 1%. AGCO’s dividend payout ratio is currently 7.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AGCO has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Raymond James assumed coverage on AGCO in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on AGCO from $135.00 to $130.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 28th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on AGCO from $145.00 to $133.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 12th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of AGCO in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Finally, Truist Financial reduced their price objective on shares of AGCO from $142.00 to $137.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, AGCO currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On AGCO

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of AGCO by 3,115.0% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,192,533 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $144,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,155,440 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in AGCO by 11.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,565,114 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $930,660,000 after buying an additional 784,617 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in AGCO by 7,297.1% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 722,915 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $87,769,000 after buying an additional 713,142 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of AGCO during the fourth quarter valued at $83,733,000. Finally, Royal London Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in shares of AGCO during the third quarter worth about $38,690,000. 78.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About AGCO

AGCO Corporation manufactures and distributes agricultural equipment and related replacement parts worldwide. It offers horsepower tractors for row crop production, soil cultivation, planting, land leveling, seeding, and commercial hay operations; utility tractors for small- and medium-sized farms, as well as for dairy, livestock, orchards, and vineyards; and compact tractors for small farms, specialty agricultural industries, landscaping, equestrian, and residential uses.