Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) Raised to "Sell" at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR - Free Report) to a sell rating in a research report report published on Friday morning.

Separately, Lake Street Capital dropped their price target on shares of Limoneira from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

Limoneira Price Performance

LMNR stock traded up $0.16 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $17.72. 66,793 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 51,544. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Limoneira has a 12-month low of $17.12 and a 12-month high of $29.22. The stock's 50 day moving average is $21.35 and its 200 day moving average is $24.54. The company has a market cap of $319.76 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.63 and a beta of 0.46.

Limoneira Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Limoneira's payout ratio is 73.17%.

Limoneira declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Monday, March 17th that permits the company to buyback $30.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to buy up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Limoneira

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in LMNR. Squarepoint Ops LLC raised its stake in Limoneira by 97.3% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 22,935 shares of the company's stock valued at $561,000 after purchasing an additional 11,310 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in shares of Limoneira by 29.3% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 13,380 shares of the company's stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 3,033 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in shares of Limoneira by 37.5% in the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 17,956 shares of the company's stock valued at $439,000 after buying an additional 4,897 shares during the last quarter. Parvin Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Limoneira in the fourth quarter worth about $357,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Limoneira by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 155,495 shares of the company's stock worth $3,803,000 after acquiring an additional 9,486 shares during the last quarter. 64.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Limoneira

Limoneira Company operates as an agribusiness and real estate development company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three divisions: Agribusiness, Rental Operations, and Real Estate Development. It grows, processes, packs, markets, and sells lemons. The company also grows avocado, oranges, and specialty citrus and other crops, including Moro blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, Valencia oranges, Minneola tangelos, Star Ruby grapefruit, pummelos, and wine grapes.