GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. Acquires 93,150 Shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. $CVGW

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. raised its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) by 703.0% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 106,400 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 93,150 shares during the period. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. owned about 0.60% of Calavo Growers worth $2,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. SG Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Calavo Growers in the third quarter worth about $13,443,000. Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Calavo Growers in the second quarter valued at about $11,364,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 1,873.8% in the second quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 226,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,030,000 after acquiring an additional 215,303 shares during the period. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 588.6% in the second quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 236,579 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,291,000 after acquiring an additional 202,221 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 91.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 275,452 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,608,000 after purchasing an additional 131,674 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Calavo Growers Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of CVGW opened at $25.88 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.92, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business has a fifty day moving average of $24.79 and a 200 day moving average of $24.16. The company has a market cap of $462.48 million, a PE ratio of 23.53 and a beta of 0.38. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 52-week low of $18.40 and a 52-week high of $28.72.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.25 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.12). Calavo Growers had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The firm had revenue of $124.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.95 million. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, January 13th were issued a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 13th. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Calavo Growers from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Friday, February 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Calavo Growers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Stephens reduced their price objective on Calavo Growers from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Calavo Growers has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $33.50.

Calavo Growers Profile

Calavo Growers, Inc (NASDAQ:CVGW), founded in 1924 and headquartered in Santa Paula, California, is a global supplier and distributor of fresh avocados and perishable foods. The company partners with growers in key producing regions to source, ripen and package whole avocados for retail, wholesale and foodservice customers. Calavo’s commitment to quality and food safety underpins its position as a trusted link between growers and end-markets.

The company operates two segments: Fresh and Calavo Foods.