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

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 11th, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Monday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of 0.10 per share on Monday, April 29th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 Stock 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 quick ratio of 1.70 and a current ratio of 2.03. Calavo Growers has a 12 month low of $21.42 and a 12 month high of $38.97. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $27.97 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $26.91.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last released its quarterly 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.08) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Calavo Growers will post 1.04 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Calavo Growers

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Calavo Growers in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,537,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Calavo Growers by 12.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,445,222 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,678,000 after buying an additional 160,709 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its position in Calavo Growers by 40.7% in the second quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 283,777 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,235,000 after acquiring an additional 82,066 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 180,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,318,000 after purchasing an additional 73,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Calavo Growers by 10.3% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 574,095 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,661,000 after purchasing an additional 53,747 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Calavo Growers in a report 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.