Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) Holdings Lifted by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) by 134.8% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 280,584 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 161,100 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Calavo Growers were worth $8,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. First Dallas Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Calavo Growers during the 3rd quarter worth $555,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC increased its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 693.2% during the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 61,611 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,554,000 after purchasing an additional 53,844 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 18.8% during the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 197,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,975,000 after purchasing an additional 31,272 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter worth about $5,190,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter worth about $262,000. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Calavo Growers Stock Performance

CVGW opened at $28.56 on Wednesday. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.42 and a 1-year high of $38.97. The company has a market capitalization of $508.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.27 and a beta of 0.63. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $27.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $27.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.70.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last announced its earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.18). Calavo Growers had a negative net margin of 1.32% and a positive return on equity of 0.49%. The firm had revenue of $127.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $254.25 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($0.08) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio is currently -60.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Calavo Growers in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th.

About Calavo Growers

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.