Virtu Financial LLC Takes $219,000 Position in Calavo Growers, Inc. $CVGW

Key Points

• Virtu Financial LLC has acquired 9,122 shares of Calavo Growers, Inc., valued at approximately $219,000, increasing its ownership to 0.05% as per its recent SEC filing.
• Calavo Growers reported a quarterly loss with earnings per share of $0.40, missing estimates of $0.53, while revenue increased by 3.3% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.20 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 2.9%, with a payout ratio currently at 137.93%.

Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 9,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $219,000. Virtu Financial LLC owned 0.05% of Calavo Growers at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in Calavo Growers by 390.5% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 60,533 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,452,000 after purchasing an additional 48,193 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System bought a new stake in Calavo Growers during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Calavo Growers by 1,994.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 13,171 shares of the company's stock valued at $316,000 after purchasing an additional 12,542 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Calavo Growers during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $561,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in Calavo Growers by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 53,214 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,357,000 after purchasing an additional 20,714 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wall Street Zen downgraded Calavo Growers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $35.00.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

NASDAQ:CVGW traded up $0.13 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $27.84. The stock had a trading volume of 174,227 shares, compared to its average volume of 162,572. 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 company has a 50 day moving average price of $26.98 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $25.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $496.67 million, a PE ratio of 48.00 and a beta of 0.42.

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

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 30th. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. Calavo Growers's payout ratio is presently 137.93%.

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.