Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) EVP Michael A. Browne Buys 5,000 Shares

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) EVP Michael A. Browne bought 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.12 per share, for a total transaction of $115,600.00. Following the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 6,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $147,968. This represents a 357.14 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

Shares of CVGW stock opened at $22.74 on Friday. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $20.30 and a twelve month high of $30.58. The company has a market capitalization of $405.61 million, a PE ratio of -379.00 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 2.17, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.34.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.25). The business had revenue of $169.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.99 million. Calavo Growers had a positive return on equity of 9.66% and a negative net margin of 0.16%. The business’s revenue was up 19.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.33) EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Calavo Growers’s payout ratio is 148.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CVGW shares. StockNews.com downgraded Calavo Growers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Lake Street Capital lowered their price objective on Calavo Growers from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Calavo Growers

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter worth about $1,371,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Calavo Growers by 221.1% in the 3rd 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 shares of Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter valued at about $310,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter valued at about $709,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 338.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 20,551 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.