May 13 Will Drive Du Pont Stock

In a report published Monday, Barclays analysts maintained an Equal-Weight rating on

, while reducing the price target from $78 to $75. The analysts believe that DuPont is well positioned to benefit from the growth in its key end markets such as within seeds and crop protection, global autos and general industrial markets. The focus in the near future is likely to be on the proxy battle. "The two sides still seem far apart in reaching an agreement though we think most investors would like to see a settlement. Immediately following the company's Q1'15 EPS call, Trian hosted an analyst day delineating their position," the report mentioned. DuPont's share price movement in the foreseeable future is expected to be largely driven by the proxy vote for or against Trian's proposal on May 13. "The proxy voting services will likely have a large say in the stock price of DuPont in 2015," the analysts added. Du Pont reported its 1Q15 EPS ahead of the consensus. "Benefits from cost reductions across the portfolio, and in particular within Ag, outweighed mixed price/volume trends in DD's end markets," the report said. Lower grain prices and high inventories are expected to restrict the company's ag performance in the second quarter. The EPS estimates for 2015 and 2016 have been reduced from $4.05 to $4.00 and from $4.60 to $4.45, respectively.