Deere & Company
(
DE
) is slated to report its third-quarter fiscal 2012 results before
the market opens on August 15. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for
earnings for the quarter is $2.32 cents per share, representing an
estimated year-over-year increase of 36.98%. Revenues, as per the
Zacks Consensus Estimate, are $9.49 billion.
Second Quarter Synopsis
The company reported adjusted earnings of $2.61 per share, beating
the Zacks Consensus Estimate of $2.54 and exceeding the year-ago
earnings of $2.12.
Worldwide total sales in the reported quarter increased 12% year
over year to $10 billion, surpassing the Zacks Consensus Estimate
of $9.67 billion.
Deere, which competes with companies like
AGCO Corporation
(
AGCO
),
CNH Global NV
(
CNH
), experienced healthy growth in its top line due to double-digit
sales expansion in its Agriculture & Turf segment as well as
Construction & Forestry segment.
Estimate Revision Trend
Agreement
Out of the 16 analysts covering the stock, none have revised their
estimates for the third quarter in either direction over the last 7
days. Only one analyst has revised his/her estimate downward over
the last 30 days.
Similarly, for fiscal 2012, none of the analysts revised their
estimates over the last 7 days. Two analysts have lowered their
estimates over the last 30 days while none have raised.
Magnitude
The Zacks Consensus Estimates remained the same for both the third
quarter and fiscal 2012 over the last 7 days. Over the last 30
days, the Zacks Consensus Estimate declined by a penny (to $2.32
per share) for third quarter and 3 cents (to $8.24 per share) for
fiscal 2012.
Earnings Surprise History
With respect to earnings surprise, Deere has topped the Zacks
Consensus Estimate in all the last four quarters. The company
delivered an average positive earnings surprise of 5.18% over the
preceding four quarters, implying that it has beaten the Zacks
Consensus Estimate by that measure.
Our Take
Strong demand for agricultural commodities and global increase in
farm income has boosted the demand for Deere's products. The United
States Department of Agriculture forecasts net farm income to be
around $91.7 billion in 2012. The expectation of a record corn
production in 2012 will encourage farmers to invest in the latest
machinery to maximize productivity, favoring Deere in this space.
However, the current U.S. drought has affected the production of
corn and soybean. This may also hinder Deere's performance in the
third quarter.
Our long-term Neutral recommendation on Deere is in agreement with
a short-term Zacks #3 Rank (Hold).
AGCO CORP (AGCO): Free Stock Analysis Report
CNH GLOBAL NV (CNH): Free Stock Analysis Report
DEERE & CO (DE): Free Stock Analysis Report
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