Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) Hits New 12-Month High – Still a Buy?

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $28.98 and last traded at $28.5730, with a volume of 107702 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $28.52.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Stephens cut their price objective on shares of Calavo Growers from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Calavo Growers from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Monday, March 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Calavo Growers has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Calavo Growers Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $501.65 million, a P/E ratio of 31.38 and a beta of 0.38. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.36 and a 200-day moving average of $23.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, March 12th. The company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.05. Calavo Growers had a return on equity of 12.81% and a net margin of 2.61%.The company had revenue of $122.20 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $138.45 million.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, April 24th will be given a dividend of $0.20 per share. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.8%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 24th. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 89.89%.

Institutional Trading of Calavo Growers

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CVGW. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers in the first quarter valued at about $2,520,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 4.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,985 shares of the company’s stock valued at $240,000 after acquiring an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 91.6% in the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 275,452 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,608,000 after acquiring an additional 131,674 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 49.7% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 50,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 16,891 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings 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 valued at $6,291,000 after acquiring an additional 202,221 shares in the last quarter. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Calavo Growers Company 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.