Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday.

Separately, 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.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CVGW opened at $24.66 on Thursday. Calavo Growers has a 1-year low of $20.30 and a 1-year high of $30.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $439.86 million, a PE ratio of -411.00 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $23.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $25.25.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Michael A. Browne acquired 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $23.69 per share, for a total transaction of $142,140.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the executive vice president now directly owns 7,500 shares in the company, valued at $177,675. This represents a 400.00 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Lecil E. Cole bought 21,070 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 11th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $23.73 per share, for a total transaction of $499,991.10. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 536,070 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,720,941.10. This trade represents a 4.09 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have purchased 35,283 shares of company stock worth $832,690. 7.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Calavo Growers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CVGW. Barclays PLC lifted its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 338.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 26,625 shares of the company’s stock valued at $759,000 after acquiring an additional 20,551 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 221.1% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 123,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,533,000 after purchasing an additional 85,272 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Calavo Growers in the 4th quarter valued at $1,371,000. Jackson Square Capital LLC increased its stake in Calavo Growers by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Jackson Square Capital LLC now owns 29,792 shares of the company’s stock worth $760,000 after purchasing an additional 3,478 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Calavo Growers by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 15,713 shares of the company’s stock worth $401,000 after buying an additional 1,321 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.