Rice Hall James & Associates LLC Invests $1.79 Million in Calavo Growers, Inc. $CVGW

Rice Hall James & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor acquired 69,713 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,794,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVGW. Old West Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Calavo Growers in the 2nd quarter valued at about $11,364,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 1,873.8% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 226,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,030,000 after buying an additional 215,303 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 588.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 236,579 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,291,000 after buying an additional 202,221 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 91.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 275,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,608,000 after buying an additional 131,674 shares during the period. Finally, DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers during the second quarter worth approximately $3,102,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens upgraded Calavo Growers to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Calavo Growers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Lake Street Capital upped their target price on Calavo Growers from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Calavo Growers in a research note on Monday, December 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $40.00.

Calavo Growers Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of CVGW opened at $21.78 on Friday. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a twelve month low of $18.40 and a twelve month high of $28.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $388.84 million, a P/E ratio of 24.75 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $21.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.87.

About Calavo Growers

Calavo Growers, Inc (NASDAQ:CVGW), founded in 1924 and headquartered in Santa Paula, California, is a global supplier and distributor of fresh avocados and perishable foods. The company partners with growers in key producing regions to source, ripen and package whole avocados for retail, wholesale and foodservice customers. Calavo’s commitment to quality and food safety underpins its position as a trusted link between growers and end-markets.

The company operates two segments: Fresh and Calavo Foods.