Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Separately, Lake Street Capital decreased their price objective on shares of Calavo Growers from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Calavo Growers Stock Performance

CVGW opened at $26.05 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. Calavo Growers has a 12-month low of $20.30 and a 12-month high of $30.58. The business has a 50 day moving average of $24.49 and a 200-day moving average of $25.11. The stock has a market cap of $464.69 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -434.20 and a beta of 0.42.

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.07%. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 148.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Michael A. Browne bought 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was bought at an average price of $23.69 per share, with a total value of $142,140.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,675. This represents a 400.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Lecil E. Cole purchased 21,070 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.73 per share, for a total transaction of $499,991.10. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 536,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,720,941.10. This represents a 4.09 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders bought 73,438 shares of company stock valued at $1,771,303. Insiders own 7.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Calavo Growers

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CVGW. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Calavo Growers by 2.8% during the first quarter. Canvas Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 15,088 shares of the company’s stock worth $362,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 268,228 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,840,000 after buying an additional 960 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Calavo Growers by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 14,346 shares of the company’s stock valued at $366,000 after buying an additional 991 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd bought a new position in Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Calavo Growers by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $65,000 after acquiring an additional 1,039 shares during the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Calavo Growers Company Profile

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.