Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Increases Stock Position in Calavo Growers, Inc. $CVGW

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Calavo Growers by 91.6%, owning 275,452 shares worth approximately $6.6 million after purchasing an additional 131,674 shares this quarter.
• Calavo Growers has faced mixed ratings from analysts, with one downgrading the stock from a "buy" to a "hold," while another raised the target price from $35 to $40.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, which equals an annualized dividend yield of 2.9%, with the payout ratio at 90.91%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Free Report) by 91.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 275,452 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 131,674 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned approximately 1.54% of Calavo Growers worth $6,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers in the first quarter valued at about $36,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 5,960.5% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the company's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 2,265 shares during the period. State of Wyoming purchased a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter valued at about $99,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio grew its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 626.3% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 7,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $182,000 after purchasing an additional 6,138 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter valued at about $219,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

Calavo Growers Stock Down 0.5%

CVGW stock traded down $0.14 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.68. 60,571 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 244,158. 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 $27.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $26.09. The company has a market cap of $494.22 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.44 and a beta of 0.39.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $178.82 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $195.20 million. Calavo Growers had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $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 Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CVGW shares. Stephens raised shares of Calavo Growers to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. Lake Street Capital upped their price objective on shares of Calavo Growers from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report 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, September 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

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.