Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Invests $976,000 in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC purchased a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 34,200 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $976,000. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned approximately 0.19% of Calavo Growers at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 0.4% in 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 increased its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 9.8% in the 1st quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 15,594 shares of the company's stock worth $434,000 after buying an additional 1,388 shares during the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers during the 1st quarter valued at $276,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 13.8% during the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,841 shares of the company's stock worth $274,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Calavo Growers by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,384,884 shares of the company's stock worth $38,514,000 after acquiring an additional 4,107 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company's stock.

Calavo Growers Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Calavo Growers stock traded up $0.12 during trading on Thursday, reaching $28.84. The company's stock had a trading volume of 125,111 shares, compared to its average volume of 222,168. The company has a quick ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $20.30 and a 52-week high of $31.26. The firm's 50-day moving average is $26.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.52. The company has a market cap of $513.35 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -316.22 and a beta of 0.57.

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

Calavo Growers Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.77%. This is an increase from Calavo Growers's previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 2nd. Calavo Growers's payout ratio is presently -888.89%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.