Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Tuesday morning.

Separately, Lake Street Capital dropped their price objective on shares of Calavo Growers from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th.

Calavo Growers Stock Up 5.4 %

Calavo Growers stock traded up $1.23 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $23.97. 263,655 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 209,273. Calavo Growers has a 52-week low of $20.30 and a 52-week high of $30.58. The firm has a market cap of $427.55 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -399.50 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.17. The company's 50-day moving average is $23.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.31.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share 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%. Calavo Growers's quarterly revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned ($0.33) EPS. On average, analysts predict that Calavo Growers will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Calavo Growers's payout ratio is 148.15%.

Insider Activity at Calavo Growers

In related news, CFO James E. Snyder acquired 3,213 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $23.33 per share, with a total value of $74,959.29. Following the acquisition, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,312.81. The trade was a 165.28 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Michael A. Browne bought 6,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.69 per share, for a total transaction of $142,140.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now owns 7,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $177,675. This represents a 400.00 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders acquired 14,213 shares of company stock valued at $332,699. Insiders own 7.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Calavo Growers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Calavo Growers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,371,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Calavo Growers by 221.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,841 shares of the company's stock worth $3,533,000 after purchasing an additional 85,272 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter worth $310,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter valued at $709,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 338.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,625 shares of the company's stock worth $759,000 after purchasing an additional 20,551 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Calavo Growers Company Profile

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.