Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) Short Interest Update

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant drop in short interest during the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 445,300 shares, a drop of 62.3% from the September 15th total of 1,180,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 293,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.5 days. Approximately 2.7% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Calavo Growers from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd.

Institutional Trading of Calavo Growers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP now owns 128,056 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 6,030 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 0.4% during the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 92,696 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,578,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 9.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,594 shares of the company's stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Calavo Growers during the first quarter valued at approximately $276,000. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 13.8% during the first quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Calavo Growers Trading Up 1.8 %

Calavo Growers stock traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $28.09. 140,051 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 224,098. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.77. Calavo Growers has a 52-week low of $20.30 and a 52-week high of $31.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $500.00 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -56.18 and a beta of 0.57. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $25.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $25.52.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.21. Calavo Growers had a negative net margin of 1.21% and a positive return on equity of 6.35%. The company had revenue of $179.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $175.00 million. On average, analysts anticipate that Calavo Growers will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Calavo Growers Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. This is a positive change from Calavo Growers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Calavo Growers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -160.00%.

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.