Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a research note released on Monday,Zacks reports.

LMNR has been the subject of a number of other reports. Lake Street Capital dropped their price target on Limoneira from $18.00 to $16.50 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 10th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Limoneira from a “sell (e+)” rating to a “sell (d-)” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Limoneira from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 5th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.50.

Limoneira Price Performance

LMNR stock opened at $12.06 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $218.65 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -5.05 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.44. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.27 and a 200 day simple moving average of $13.13. Limoneira has a 1 year low of $11.55 and a 1 year high of $15.43.

Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 9th. The company reported $0.02 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.19 by ($0.17). The company had revenue of $43.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $49.62 million. Limoneira had a negative net margin of 33.03% and a negative return on equity of 13.91%. Research analysts anticipate that Limoneira will post -0.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Limoneira

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Limoneira in the second quarter worth approximately $15,065,000. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Limoneira by 122.2% in the first quarter. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. now owns 578,059 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,758,000 after acquiring an additional 317,872 shares during the last quarter. Flax Pond Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Limoneira during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,145,000. SFE Investment Counsel acquired a new stake in Limoneira during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $788,000. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new stake in Limoneira during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $659,000. 64.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Limoneira

Limoneira Company (NASDAQ: LMNR) is an agribusiness headquartered in Santa Paula, California. Founded in 1893, the company is one of the oldest continuously operating citrus businesses in the United States and owns, leases, and manages agricultural land used primarily for citrus and avocado production.

The company’s principal products include lemons, avocados, oranges, and other specialty citrus varieties. Limoneira also operates packing and marketing activities, helping prepare and distribute fresh produce for retail, foodservice, wholesale, and industrial customers.