AGCO (NYSE:AGCO) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

AGCO Co. (NYSE:AGCO) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $84.83, but opened at $91.32. AGCO shares last traded at $93.85, with a volume of 124,567 shares traded.

The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.03 by $0.38. AGCO had a positive return on equity of 13.40% and a negative net margin of 3.64%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.06 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.32 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 30.0% on a year-over-year basis.

AGCO Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.24%. AGCO’s dividend payout ratio is presently -20.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on AGCO shares. UBS Group set a $106.00 price objective on AGCO in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Baird R W downgraded shares of AGCO from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of AGCO from $109.00 to $106.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Truist Financial decreased their price target on shares of AGCO from $125.00 to $105.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of AGCO from an “equal weight” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $94.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $99.80.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of AGCO by 386.8% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 249,209 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $24,389,000 after purchasing an additional 198,014 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in AGCO in the third quarter valued at about $52,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in AGCO by 28.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 684,249 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $66,959,000 after acquiring an additional 150,656 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of AGCO by 174.7% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 544 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of AGCO in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $236,000. 78.80% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

AGCO Stock Up 9.9 %

The company has a market capitalization of $6.96 billion, a P/E ratio of -16.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.80 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 1.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.59 and its 200-day moving average is $94.87.

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.