Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) Declares $0.10 Quarterly Dividend

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 11th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st will be given a dividend of 0.10 per share on Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 28th.

Calavo Growers has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 36.1% per year over the last three years. Calavo Growers has a payout ratio of 25.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Calavo Growers to earn $1.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 29.2%.

Calavo Growers Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CVGW opened at $27.11 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $27.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $26.91. Calavo Growers has a 52-week low of $21.42 and a 52-week high of $38.97.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.01) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.18). Calavo Growers had a positive return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 1.32%. The firm had revenue of $127.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $254.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($0.08) EPS. Calavo Growers’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Calavo Growers will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Calavo Growers

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Calavo Growers in the 4th quarter worth about $5,537,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Calavo Growers by 12.5% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,445,222 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,678,000 after acquiring an additional 160,709 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Calavo Growers by 40.7% in the 2nd quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 283,777 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,235,000 after acquiring an additional 82,066 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Calavo Growers by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 180,900 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,318,000 after purchasing an additional 73,634 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 10.3% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 574,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $16,661,000 after purchasing an additional 53,747 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.