UPDATE: Stifel Initiates Coverage on Deere & Company with Hold Rating on Mixed Factors

In a report published Friday, Stifel analyst Robert Connors initiated coverage on Deere & Company DE with a Hold rating. In the report, Stifel noted, “DE stock is tied to the pricing power of farm commodities, and we believe the secular bull market is over. We believe it takes two years for crop prices to impact equipment sales, and we see a 28% drop in North American high horsepower farm equipment sales from the January 2014 peak. Pending a return to ethanol profitability, exports remain an opportunity for U.S. corn. But offsetting this, we see rising export competition from the Black Sea region.” Deere & Company closed on Thursday at $86.33.