EP Wealth Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Calavo Growers, Inc. $CVGW

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC has acquired a new position in Calavo Growers, purchasing 10,703 shares valued at approximately $257,000, representing about 0.06% of the company's total shares.
• Calavo Growers recently reported earnings of $0.57 EPS for the quarter, exceeding expectations, although revenue fell slightly compared to the previous year.
• Analysts have adjusted Calavo Growers' rating from a "buy" to a "hold," with an average price target set at $35.00.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 10,703 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $257,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of Calavo Growers at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in Calavo Growers during the first quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC boosted its stake in Calavo Growers by 5,960.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 2,265 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new position in Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter worth about $99,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in Calavo Growers by 626.3% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,118 shares of the company's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 6,138 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter worth about $219,000. 81.30% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens raised shares of Calavo Growers to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on shares of Calavo Growers from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Calavo Growers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Calavo Growers currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $40.00.

Calavo Growers Stock Up 0.3%

CVGW stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $27.45. 150,408 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,529. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.86 and a current ratio of 2.30. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $21.46 and a 1-year high of $30.02. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $27.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.03. The company has a market cap of $490.06 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.19 and a beta of 0.39.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 9th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $178.82 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $195.20 million. Calavo Growers had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Calavo Growers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 90.91%.

Calavo Growers 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.