Nuance Investments LLC Raises Stock Position in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)

Key Points

• Nuance Investments LLC increased its stake in Calavo Growers by 6.4%, owning 1,770,251 shares valued at approximately $42.47 million, making it the firm's 14th largest position.
• The company reported a missed earnings forecast for the most recent quarter, posting $0.40 EPS against an estimated $0.53, despite a 3.3% year-over-year revenue growth.
• Calavo Growers announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, yielding 2.9%, with a payout ratio exceeding 137%.

Nuance Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Free Report) by 6.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,770,251 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 106,736 shares during the quarter. Calavo Growers accounts for 2.8% of Nuance Investments LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned approximately 9.92% of Calavo Growers worth $42,468,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CVGW. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 5,960.5% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,265 shares during the period. Aquatic Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $86,000. State of Wyoming bought a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter worth approximately $99,000. Finally, Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its holdings in shares of Calavo Growers by 139.5% during the 4th quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 5,393 shares of the company's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 3,141 shares during the period. 81.30% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Calavo Growers Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ:CVGW traded up $0.27 during trading on Friday, reaching $27.66. The stock had a trading volume of 145,834 shares, compared to its average volume of 171,620. The firm's fifty day moving average is $26.81 and its 200 day moving average is $25.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a current ratio of 2.00. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 52 week low of $21.46 and a 52 week high of $30.02. The stock has a market cap of $493.37 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.69 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th were paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. Calavo Growers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.