Insider Buying: Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) EVP Buys 6,000 Shares of Stock

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) EVP Michael A. Browne purchased 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $23.69 per share, for a total transaction of $142,140.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 7,500 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $177,675. The trade was a 400.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Calavo Growers Stock Performance

NASDAQ CVGW traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $23.58. 168,454 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 207,798. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $20.30 and a 52 week high of $30.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $420.60 million, a P/E ratio of -393.00 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business's fifty day moving average price is $23.35 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.55.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.30 by ($0.25). The company had revenue of $169.96 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $161.99 million. Calavo Growers had a positive return on equity of 9.66% and a negative net margin of 0.16%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.33) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

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Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.39%. Calavo Growers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Calavo Growers

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter valued at $1,371,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Calavo Growers by 221.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,533,000 after acquiring an additional 85,272 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter valued at about $310,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 338.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,625 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after acquiring an additional 20,551 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Calavo Growers in the third quarter worth about $746,000. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CVGW shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Calavo Growers from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Lake Street Capital dropped their target price on Calavo Growers from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

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.