StockNews.com Downgrades Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) to Hold

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Separately, 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.

Calavo Growers Trading Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:CVGW opened at $26.90 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $25.05. The stock has a market cap of $479.82 million, a P/E ratio of -448.33 and a beta of 0.42. Calavo Growers has a 1 year low of $20.30 and a 1 year high of $30.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.17.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio is currently 148.15%.

Insider Transactions at Calavo Growers

In other news, EVP Michael A. Browne bought 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.69 per share, with a total value of $142,140.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,500 shares in the company, valued at $177,675. This trade represents a 400.00% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO James E. Snyder bought 3,213 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.33 per share, with a total value of $74,959.29. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 5,157 shares in the company, valued at approximately $120,312.81. This trade represents a 165.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders acquired 73,438 shares of company stock valued at $1,771,303. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Calavo Growers

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,371,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Calavo Growers by 221.1% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,533,000 after acquiring an additional 85,272 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $310,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $709,000. Finally, Martingale Asset Management L P acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $390,000. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.