Dole PLC (NYSE:DOLE) Short Interest Up 13.3% in April

Key Points

• Short interest rose 13.3% in April to 1,723,052 shares, equal to 3.1% of shares sold short and a short-interest ratio of 2.6 days based on average daily volume.
• Institutional investors have been adding to positions while Wall Street's consensus rating is a Hold with a $15.50 target; Dole trades near $15.18, has a $1.44B market cap, posted a recent quarterly EPS beat and pays a 2.2% dividend yield.

Dole PLC (NYSE:DOLE - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totaling 1,723,052 shares, an increase of 13.3% from the March 31st total of 1,521,345 shares. Currently, 3.1% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 665,430 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Dole

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Dole by 46.4% during the 3rd quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 233,867 shares of the company's stock worth $3,143,000 after acquiring an additional 74,096 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Dole by 117.4% during the 3rd quarter. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd now owns 207,086 shares of the company's stock worth $2,783,000 after acquiring an additional 111,829 shares during the period. Invenomic Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Dole by 24.3% during the 3rd quarter. Invenomic Capital Management LP now owns 1,540,959 shares of the company's stock worth $20,710,000 after acquiring an additional 301,319 shares during the period. Atlantic Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Dole during the 3rd quarter worth about $4,435,000. Finally, Tudor Investment Corp ET AL lifted its holdings in shares of Dole by 254.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 332,609 shares of the company's stock worth $4,470,000 after acquiring an additional 238,819 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on DOLE shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $15.00 price objective (down from $18.00) on shares of Dole in a research note on Monday, March 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Dole from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Dole from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, March 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dole presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $15.50.

Dole Price Performance

Dole stock opened at $15.18 on Friday. Dole has a 12-month low of $12.52 and a 12-month high of $16.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $14.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $14.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 1.17 and a quick ratio of 0.83.

Dole (NYSE:DOLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.02. Dole had a net margin of 0.56% and a return on equity of 7.81%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.16 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Dole will post 1.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Dole Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 18th were paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 18th. Dole's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.15%.

Dole Company Profile

Dole plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables. The company's product range includes bananas, pineapples, berries, grapes, salads and a variety of other fresh and packaged produce, sold under the Dole brand and through private-label arrangements. Dole's operations span the full fresh-produce value chain, from farming and sourcing to packing, ripening, cold‑chain logistics and wholesale and retail distribution, supporting both retail grocery and foodservice customers.

The company traces its commercial heritage to the early 20th century Hawaiian pineapple business founded by James Dole and has evolved through subsequent corporate restructurings and combinations.

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