Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. Lowers Stake in Calavo Growers, Inc. $CVGW

Key Points

• Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. reduced its stake in Calavo Growers, Inc. by 4.4% during the 1st quarter, selling 11,747 shares to end up with 256,481 shares valued at approximately $6.15 million.
• Calavo Growers reported earnings per share of $0.40 for the most recent quarter, missing estimates of $0.53, alongside a revenue of $190.55 million, which was below the forecast of $192.75 million.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Calavo Growers, with a price target set at $35.00, although one analyst recently downgraded the stock from "buy" to "hold."

Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. decreased its stake in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Free Report) by 4.4% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 256,481 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,747 shares during the period. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. owned about 1.44% of Calavo Growers worth $6,153,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CVGW. Nuance Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 6.4% in the 1st quarter. Nuance Investments LLC now owns 1,770,251 shares of the company's stock worth $42,468,000 after buying an additional 106,736 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Calavo Growers in the 1st quarter worth $2,520,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 363.0% in the 4th quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 78,538 shares of the company's stock worth $2,003,000 after buying an additional 61,574 shares during the last quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 180,268 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,597,000 after purchasing an additional 57,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Calavo Growers during the 1st quarter valued at $1,189,000. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CVGW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens raised shares of Calavo Growers to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Lake Street Capital boosted their price target on shares of Calavo Growers from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded 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 given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $40.00.

Calavo Growers Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CVGW traded down $0.39 on Friday, hitting $27.37. The company had a trading volume of 223,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,627. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $27.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $25.98. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $21.46 and a 1 year high of $30.02. The company has a quick ratio of 1.54, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $488.64 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.10 and a beta of 0.39.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The company reported $0.57 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.54 by $0.03. Calavo Growers had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $178.82 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $195.20 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

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

About Calavo Growers

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.