First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. Trims Position in Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR)

First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. lowered its position in Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 527,230 shares of the company’s stock after selling 165,982 shares during the quarter. Limoneira comprises about 3.5% of First Wilshire Securities Management Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 12th biggest holding. First Wilshire Securities Management Inc. owned approximately 2.92% of Limoneira worth $12,896,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Limoneira by 77.5% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 1,127 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Limoneira by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after buying an additional 436 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in Limoneira by 20.1% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after acquiring an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Limoneira by 27.9% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after acquiring an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Limoneira during the 3rd quarter valued at about $255,000. 64.35% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on LMNR. Lake Street Capital reduced their price target on shares of Limoneira from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Limoneira to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 28th.

Limoneira Stock Performance

Shares of Limoneira stock opened at $17.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. Limoneira has a 52 week low of $17.12 and a 52 week high of $29.22. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $21.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.49. The firm has a market capitalization of $319.94 million, a P/E ratio of 46.66 and a beta of 0.46.

Limoneira Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.69%. Limoneira’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.17%.

Limoneira announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Monday, March 17th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Limoneira Profile

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.