Corteva (CTVA) is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) has seen earnings estimates slide lower recently despite the fact that it has beaten the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters. This article will look at why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) as it is the Bear of the Day.

Description

Corteva, Inc. provides agriculture products. The company develops and supplies germplasm and traits in corn, soybean and sunflower seed markets. It also supplies products to the agricultural input industry which protect against weeds, insects and other pests, and diseases as well as to enhance crop health. Corteva, Inc. is based in Wilmington, Delaware.

Earnings History

When I look at a stock, the first thing I do is look to see if the company is beating the number.  This tells me right away where the market’s expectations have been for the company and how management has communicated to the market.  A stock that consistently beats has management communicating expectations to Wall Street that can be achieved.  That is what you want to see.

In the case of CTVA, I see four straight beats of the Zacks Consensus Estimate.  This alone does not make the stock a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and it doesn’t make it a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) either.

The Zacks Rank does care about the earnings history, but it is much more heavily influenced by the movement of earnings estimates.

Earnings Estimates

The Zacks Rank tells us which stocks are seeing earnings estimates move higher or in this case lower.  For CTVA I see annual estimates moving lower of late.

The current fiscal year consensus number moved lower from $2.99 to $2.87 over the last 60 days. 

The next year has moved from $3.53 to $3.36 over the last 60 days.

Negative movement in earnings estimates like that is why this stock is a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

It should be noted that a lot of stocks in the Zacks universe are seeing negative earnings estimate revisions.  That means that the stocks that are seeing small but negative earnings estimate revisions are falling to a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

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