Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) Announces Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.16 EPS

Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday. The company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.01) by ($0.16), RTT News reports. The business had revenue of $35.12 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $38.70 million. Limoneira had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 4.03%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.44 earnings per share.

Limoneira Stock Performance

NASDAQ:LMNR opened at $16.18 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $20.58. Limoneira has a 1 year low of $13.54 and a 1 year high of $29.22. The company has a market capitalization of $291.97 million, a P/E ratio of 42.58 and a beta of 0.45.

Limoneira Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st were given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 31st. Limoneira’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.17%.

Institutional Trading of Limoneira

A hedge fund recently bought a new stake in Limoneira stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. bought a new position in Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 14,436 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 0.08% of Limoneira at the end of the most recent reporting period. 64.35% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Limoneira to a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Lake Street Capital dropped their price target on Limoneira from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 13th.

Limoneira announced that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Monday, March 17th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

About Limoneira

Limoneira Company operates as an agribusiness and real estate development company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three divisions: Agribusiness, Rental Operations, and Real Estate Development. It grows, processes, packs, markets, and sells lemons. The company also grows avocado, oranges, and specialty citrus and other crops, including Moro blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, Valencia oranges, Minneola tangelos, Star Ruby grapefruit, pummelos, and wine grapes.