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
To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
Get all Zacks Research Reports and be alerted to fast-breaking buy and sell opportunities every trading day.
Be the first to comment