Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) Upgraded by Lake Street Capital to "Buy" Rating

Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Lake Street Capital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage presently has a $23.00 target price on the stock. Lake Street Capital's price target would indicate a potential upside of 49.35% from the company's previous close.

Separately, Wall Street Zen upgraded Limoneira to a "sell" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 9th.

Limoneira Price Performance

Shares of LMNR traded down $0.66 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $15.40. 74,131 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 60,770. The stock has a market capitalization of $277.89 million, a PE ratio of 40.53 and a beta of 0.45. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $15.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $20.35. Limoneira has a fifty-two week low of $14.80 and a fifty-two week high of $29.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, June 9th. The company reported ($0.17) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.01) by ($0.16). The firm had revenue of $35.12 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $38.70 million. Limoneira had a return on equity of 4.34% and a net margin of 4.03%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share.

Limoneira announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, March 17th that authorizes the company to repurchase $30.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Limoneira

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of LMNR. Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in Limoneira by 19.2% during the first quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 19,411 shares of the company's stock worth $344,000 after purchasing an additional 3,132 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Limoneira in the 1st quarter worth $335,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Limoneira in the 1st quarter worth $256,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Limoneira by 21.7% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 57,118 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,012,000 after acquiring an additional 10,173 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caption Management LLC purchased a new stake in Limoneira during the first quarter valued at about $123,000. 64.35% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.