Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday morning.

Calavo Growers Trading Down 3.9 %

Shares of NASDAQ CVGW opened at $22.34 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 1.97. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $23.93 and its 200-day moving average price is $26.26. Calavo Growers has a fifty-two week low of $20.90 and a fifty-two week high of $37.88. The company has a market cap of $397.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -248.22 and a beta of 0.56.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last issued its earnings results on Monday, June 10th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.31 by $0.19. Calavo Growers had a positive return on equity of 4.84% and a negative net margin of 0.18%. The company had revenue of $184.38 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $157.00 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Calavo Growers will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 2nd. Calavo Growers’s payout ratio is -444.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,190,000. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new position in shares of Calavo Growers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $262,000. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Calavo Growers by 134.8% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 280,584 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,252,000 after purchasing an additional 161,100 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Calavo Growers by 8.2% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 348,098 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,238,000 after purchasing an additional 26,434 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 688,845 shares of the company’s stock valued at $20,259,000 after buying an additional 60,803 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Calavo Growers

Calavo Growers, Inc markets and distributes avocados, prepared avocados, and other perishable foods to retail grocery and foodservice customers, club stores, mass merchandisers, food distributors, and wholesale customers worldwide. It operates through Grown and Prepared segments. The Grown segment distributes tomatoes and papayas; and procures avocados grown in California, Mexico, Peru, and Colombia.