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 PEORIA, Ill. (AP) - Shares in Moline-based Deere & Co. tumbled Tuesday after the equipment maker reported withered third-quarter profits due to dry weather that has gripped parts of the nation and curbed demand for the company's trademark green-and-yellow products.
Deere shares closed down $8.06, or 11.1 percent, to $64.75 Tuesday on the New York Stock Exchange. The company posted profits that dipped 3 1/2 percent from last year and issued weaker fourth-quarter and full-year earnings forecasts. The stock has been trading in a 52-week range of $56.72 to $74.73.
The maker of John Deere tractors and other heavy machinery reported profits slid to $387.1 million for the quarter that ended July 31, down from $401.4 million during the same period last year. Per-share earnings matched last year's at $1.58 but fell short of the $1.90 per share analysts polled by Thomson Financial had been expecting.
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