Piper Jaffray Reiterates Neutral, Lowers PT On Deere
In a note out today, Piper Jaffray reiterated a Neutral rating on farm equipment maker Deere (NYSE: DE), but lowered its price target on the stock to $80 from $87, implying limited upside from current levels.
We are lowering our price target from $87 to $80 and maintaining our Neutral rating on DE shares after completing a survey of ~30 farm machinery dealers across the U.S. which pointed to a sharp rise in dealer inventory levels of used equipment following harvest season. While this inventory spike is indicative of increased tradein activity, which bodes well for 2012 fundamentals, we are concerned that high inventory levels will weigh on volumes (and potentially pricing) for 2013 deliveries. Our FY13 EPS estimate of $7.28 is ~10% below consensus, and outside of increased share repurchases,we see risk to our estimates," Piper said in the note.
Shares of Deere are up 3% today.
