Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) Given New $73.00 Price Target at Royal Bank of Canada

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) had its price objective boosted by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $72.00 to $73.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s target price points to a potential upside of 17.06% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Corteva from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Corteva from $74.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Corteva from $67.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of Corteva from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $67.31.

Corteva Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:CTVA remained flat at $62.36 during midday trading on Friday. 2,622,891 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,682,911. Corteva has a 52 week low of $50.01 and a 52 week high of $66.24. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $60.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 0.96 and a current ratio of 1.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.86 billion, a PE ratio of 62.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by ($0.02). Corteva had a return on equity of 6.63% and a net margin of 4.18%. Research analysts forecast that Corteva will post 2.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Corteva announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Tuesday, November 19th that allows the company to buyback $3.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 7.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Corteva by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 34,290,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,015,914,000 after acquiring an additional 768,519 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Corteva by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 17,703,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,037,505,000 after buying an additional 355,206 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in Corteva by 6.1% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 14,788,607 shares of the company’s stock valued at $860,746,000 after buying an additional 856,007 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in Corteva by 1.4% in the third quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 14,362,309 shares of the company’s stock worth $844,360,000 after acquiring an additional 200,917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Corteva by 1.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,747,791 shares of the company’s stock worth $631,863,000 after acquiring an additional 203,126 shares during the last quarter. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.