Investors Buy High Volume of Corteva Call Options (NYSE:CTVA)

Corteva, Inc. (NYSE:CTVA) saw unusually large options trading activity on Thursday. Investors acquired 10,526 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 366% compared to the average daily volume of 2,261 call options.

Corteva Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of CTVA traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $56.09. 2,475,356 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,572,118. The company has a market capitalization of $39.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.29, a PEG ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a current ratio of 1.51, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.10. Corteva has a 52 week low of $43.22 and a 52 week high of $58.81. The company’s 50 day moving average is $55.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $51.09.

Corteva (NYSE:CTVA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.79 by $0.10. Corteva had a net margin of 3.32% and a return on equity of 6.68%. The business had revenue of $4.49 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.65 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 8.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Corteva will post 2.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Corteva Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 4th will be given a dividend of $0.16 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 4th. This represents a $0.64 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Corteva’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Samuel R. Eathington sold 31,686 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.64, for a total value of $1,826,381.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 53,854 shares in the company, valued at $3,104,144.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, insider Brian Titus sold 12,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.65, for a total value of $687,391.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 13,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $764,491.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Samuel R. Eathington sold 31,686 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.64, for a total value of $1,826,381.04. Following the sale, the insider now owns 53,854 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,104,144.56. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Corteva

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Redmont Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Corteva during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Corteva during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its position in Corteva by 2,522.2% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 472 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 454 shares in the last quarter. Albion Financial Group UT grew its holdings in Corteva by 77.2% in the first quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 505 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 220 shares during the period. Finally, CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Corteva in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. 81.54% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CTVA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Corteva from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $57.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Corteva from $67.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Corteva from $66.00 to $67.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Canaccord Genuity Group increased their target price on Corteva from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Corteva from $64.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $63.24.

About Corteva

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.