Michael A. Browne Acquires 6,000 Shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) Stock

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) EVP Michael A. Browne acquired 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.69 per share, with a total value of $142,140.00. Following the purchase, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,500 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $177,675. This trade represents a 400.00 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

Calavo Growers stock opened at $23.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $23.35 and its 200 day moving average is $25.58. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a one year low of $20.30 and a one year high of $30.58. The firm has a market cap of $420.60 million, a P/E ratio of -393.00 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.17 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.05 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.25). The firm had revenue of $169.96 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $161.99 million. Calavo Growers had a negative net margin of 0.16% and a positive return on equity of 9.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.33) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 148.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have issued reports on CVGW shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Calavo Growers from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Lake Street Capital decreased their price objective on Calavo Growers from $40.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Jane Street Group LLC increased its holdings in Calavo Growers by 215.5% in the third quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 262,626 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,493,000 after purchasing an additional 179,395 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 26.8% during the 4th quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 445,817 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,368,000 after buying an additional 94,221 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 221.1% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,533,000 after acquiring an additional 85,272 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership lifted its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 104.7% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 150,960 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,849,000 after acquiring an additional 77,220 shares during the period. Finally, Squarepoint Ops LLC boosted its stake in Calavo Growers by 363.0% during the fourth quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 78,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,003,000 after acquiring an additional 61,574 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.