GAMMA Investing LLC Buys 12,542 Shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)

GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Free Report) by 1,994.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,171 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,542 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.07% of Calavo Growers worth $316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CVGW. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Calavo Growers by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,542 shares of the company's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 1,039 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS bought a new position in Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $76,000. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $99,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in Calavo Growers by 139.5% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,393 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 3,141 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Calavo Growers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 15th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Calavo Growers

In other Calavo Growers news, EVP Michael A. Browne purchased 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 10th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $23.12 per share, for a total transaction of $115,600.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 6,400 shares in the company, valued at $147,968. The trade was a 357.14% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Lecil E. Cole purchased 38,155 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 14th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $24.60 per share, for a total transaction of $938,613.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 574,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,125,935. This trade represents a 7.12% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders bought 73,438 shares of company stock worth $1,771,303. 7.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

Shares of CVGW traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $27.00. The company had a trading volume of 180,266 shares, compared to its average volume of 243,528. The company has a market capitalization of $481.68 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.55 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $26.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $24.88. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 1-year low of $20.30 and a 1-year high of $30.02.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.13). The company had revenue of $190.55 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $192.75 million. Calavo Growers had a net margin of 1.50% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.50 EPS. Analysts expect that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.20 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.96%. Calavo Growers's payout ratio is presently 137.93%.

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.