Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:DMC) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:DMC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday,Wall Street Zen reports.

Separately, Weiss Ratings began coverage on Fresh Del Monte Produce in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. They set a “hold (c)” rating for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Fresh Del Monte Produce has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Price Performance

Shares of NYSE DMC opened at $27.00 on Friday. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a 1 year low of $26.09 and a 1 year high of $43.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $30.43. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.37 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:DMC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a return on equity of 5.96% and a net margin of 1.86%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.69 EPS.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.4%. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s payout ratio is presently 70.18%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Outfitters Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce during the 2nd quarter worth $912,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce during the second quarter valued at $4,023,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP purchased a new position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce during the second quarter valued at $1,141,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in the second quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in the second quarter valued at about $302,000. Institutional investors own 64.83% of the company’s stock.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc is a vertically integrated producer, distributor and marketer of fresh and prepared fruits and vegetables. Its product portfolio includes bananas, pineapples, melons, avocados, berries, grapes, tomatoes and other fresh produce, along with prepared fruit, vegetables, juices and snacks sold under the Del Monte brand and other labels.

The company manages activities across the produce supply chain, including cultivation, sourcing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transportation and distribution.