Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) Issues Earnings Results

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.53 by ($0.13), Zacks reports. Calavo Growers had a negative net margin of 0.16% and a positive return on equity of 9.66%. The firm had revenue of $190.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $192.75 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.50 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

NASDAQ:CVGW opened at $23.18 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $25.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $24.92. The stock has a market cap of $413.46 million, a P/E ratio of -386.33 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.70. Calavo Growers has a one year low of $20.30 and a one year high of $30.58.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Wall Street Zen lowered Calavo Growers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO James E. Snyder purchased 3,213 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.33 per share, for a total transaction of $74,959.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 5,157 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $120,312.81. The trade was a 165.28% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Lecil E. Cole acquired 38,155 shares of Calavo Growers stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $24.60 per share, for a total transaction of $938,613.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 574,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,125,935. This represents a 7.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders bought 73,438 shares of company stock worth $1,771,303. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Calavo Growers

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CVGW. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in Calavo Growers by 4.1% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 49.7% during the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 50,858 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after buying an additional 16,891 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Calavo Growers in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,520,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Calavo Growers by 91.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 275,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,608,000 after buying an additional 131,674 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

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.