Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy”.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Performance

Fresh Del Monte Produce stock opened at $35.29 on Friday. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a 1-year low of $26.50 and a 1-year high of $40.75. The firm has a market cap of $1.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.65 and a beta of 0.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $35.00 and a 200-day moving average of $34.42. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 29th. The company reported $0.69 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.50 by $0.19. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a net margin of 1.84% and a return on equity of 6.63%. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.04 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.77 earnings per share. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Buying and Selling at Fresh Del Monte Produce

In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, CEO Ghazaleh Mohammad Abu sold 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.92, for a total transaction of $1,796,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,990,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $179,268,889.44. This trade represents a 0.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Effie D. Silva sold 1,315 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.54, for a total transaction of $49,365.10. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 7,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $276,932.58. This represents a 15.13% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 137,039 shares of company stock worth $5,010,709 over the last three months. Company insiders own 31.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fresh Del Monte Produce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce during the third quarter valued at approximately $226,000. Sylvest Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 9.3% during the third quarter. Sylvest Advisors LLC now owns 25,072 shares of the company’s stock valued at $870,000 after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd increased its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 33.3% during the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 123,632 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,293,000 after acquiring an additional 30,912 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 8.2% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 45,501 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,580,000 after purchasing an additional 3,455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the third quarter worth approximately $2,263,000. Institutional investors own 64.83% of the company’s stock.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc, through its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fresh and Value-Added Products, Banana, and Other Products and Services.