Deere & Company (NYSE: DE)
Deere & Company (DE), an agriculture, turf, construction, and forestry equipment company recently announced fourth quarter and full year financial results. All the significant financial numbers for fourth quarter 2015 were down across the board compared to fourth quarter 2014, due to weakness of global markets for farm and construction equipment. However the numbers did beat analysts estimates as Q4 earnings per share was $1.08 which was $0.34 better than analyst estimates.
Deere & Company CEO’s Comments
“John Deere has completed a successful year in the face of further weakness in the global agricultural sector and a slowdown in construction-equipment markets,” said Samuel R. Allen, chairman and chief executive officer. “Sales and earnings for the year were the sixth-highest in company history, a notable achievement in light of the challenging market conditions we experienced. The company’s performance benefited from the adept execution of our business plans and disciplined cost management. As a result, Deere remains well-positioned to serve its customers while continuing to make investments in quality and innovation that are designed to drive growth in the future.” PR Newswire
DE Technical Analysis
DE gapped up in price Wednesday to $80.19, up from the prior day’s close of $76.34, which is a 5% increase on the favorable news. Taking a look at the daily chart, we can see the last time DE traded at this price level was on November 2nd, when it closed at $80.19. Taking a further look back on the daily chart, we can see that DE has been on an overall decline dating back to August 10th when it traded at $97.14. More recently, DE has had three spikes up in which the highs have been lower. These dates occurred on October 8th, 22nd, and November 2nd with highs of $81.31, $81.11, and $80.51. It will be interesting to see if this spike’s high can break the pattern of lower highs. DE has a high float of 297.21 million shares and was trading below the normal daily trading volume. DE did reach pre market highs of $80.88, but gave back $0.69 at the open, or equivalent to 1%. For trading purposes, my entry point would have been $80.25 looking for a run through $80.50. My stop loss would have been $80.10, fearing anything below that and the stock would start to fill in the gap up.
Company Profile
Deere & Company, together with its subsidiaries, manufactures and distributes agriculture and turf, and construction and forestry equipment worldwide. The companys Agriculture and Turf segment provides agriculture and turf equipment, and related service parts, including large, medium, and utility tractors; loaders; combines, corn pickers, cotton and sugarcane harvesters, and related front-end equipment and sugarcane loaders; and tillage, seeding, and application equipment, including sprayers, nutrient management, and soil preparation machinery. This segment also provides hay and forage equipment comprising self-propelled forage harvesters and attachments, balers, and mowers; riding lawn equipment and walk-behind mowers, golf course equipment, utility vehicles, and commercial mowing equipment; integrated agricultural management systems technology and solutions; and other outdoor power products. Its Construction and Forestry segment provides backhoe loaders; crawler dozers and loaders; four-wheel-drive loaders; excavators; motor graders; articulated dump trucks; landscape loaders; skid-steer loaders; and log skidders, feller bunchers, log loaders, log forwarders, log harvesters, and related attachments that are used in construction, earthmoving, material handling, and timber harvesting applications. The companys Financial Services segment finances sales and leases of new and used agriculture and turf equipment, and construction and forestry equipment. This segment also provides wholesale financing to dealers of the foregoing equipment; finances retail revolving charge accounts; and offers crop risk-mitigation products and extended equipment warranties. The company markets its products primarily through independent retail dealer networks and retail outlets. Deere & Company was founded in 1837 and is headquartered in Moline, Illinois. Yahoo Finance
