Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.24 EPS

Key Points

• Limoneira reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of ($0.05), missing analysts' expectations by $0.24.
• Despite the earnings miss, Limoneira's stock increased by 0.1%, trading at $15.73 during the same day.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.075, which represents a 1.9% dividend yield despite having a negative dividend payout ratio of -214.29%.

Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR - Get Free Report) issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The company reported ($0.05) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.19 by ($0.24), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $47.48 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $52.76 million. Limoneira had a negative net margin of 5.69% and a negative return on equity of 5.01%.

Limoneira Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of LMNR traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $15.26. The company had a trading volume of 40,006 shares, compared to its average volume of 51,230. The stock has a market cap of $275.44 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -27.74 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50 day moving average price is $15.52 and its 200 day moving average price is $16.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. Limoneira has a 52 week low of $14.40 and a 52 week high of $29.22.

Limoneira Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 7th were given a $0.075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 7th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Limoneira's payout ratio is presently -54.55%.

Institutional Trading of Limoneira

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Limoneira during the first quarter valued at approximately $256,000. Jane Street Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Limoneira in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $335,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Limoneira by 5.6% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 397,720 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,226,000 after acquiring an additional 20,913 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Limoneira by 248.7% during the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 44,238 shares of the company's stock worth $692,000 after purchasing an additional 31,552 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Limoneira by 29.5% during the second quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 24,943 shares of the company's stock worth $390,000 after purchasing an additional 5,682 shares during the last quarter. 64.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on LMNR. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Limoneira in a research note on Friday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $18.00 target price for the company. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Limoneira to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Lake Street Capital upgraded Limoneira from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $23.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $20.50.

About Limoneira

Limoneira Company operates as an agribusiness and real estate development company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three divisions: Agribusiness, Rental Operations, and Real Estate Development. It grows, processes, packs, markets, and sells lemons. The company also grows avocado, oranges, and specialty citrus and other crops, including Moro blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, Valencia oranges, Minneola tangelos, Star Ruby grapefruit, pummelos, and wine grapes.