Short Interest in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) Grows By 5.5%

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in April. As of April 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a growth of 5.5% from the March 31st total of 967,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 174,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 5.8 days. Approximately 6.1% of the company's stock are short sold.

Calavo Growers Stock Up 5.6 %

Shares of Calavo Growers stock traded up $1.52 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $28.47. 172,575 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 178,640. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $27.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $26.96. The company has a quick ratio of 1.70, a current ratio of 2.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The company has a market cap of $506.77 million, a PE ratio of -41.65 and a beta of 0.65. Calavo Growers has a twelve month low of $21.42 and a twelve month high of $38.97.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, March 11th. The company reported ($0.01) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.18). Calavo Growers had a positive return on equity of 0.49% and a negative net margin of 1.32%. The company had revenue of $127.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $254.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($0.08) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Calavo Growers will post 1.04 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 29th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 28th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. Calavo Growers's payout ratio is -60.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Calavo Growers in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Calavo Growers

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Kent Lake Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Kent Lake Capital LLC now owns 300,000 shares of the company's stock worth $8,823,000 after purchasing an additional 200,000 shares during the last quarter. First Dallas Securities Inc. bought a new position in Calavo Growers in the third quarter worth about $555,000. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC lifted its holdings in Calavo Growers by 693.2% in the third quarter. Thompson Siegel & Walmsley LLC now owns 61,611 shares of the company's stock worth $1,554,000 after acquiring an additional 53,844 shares during the last quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Calavo Growers by 18.8% in the third quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 197,202 shares of the company's stock worth $4,975,000 after acquiring an additional 31,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Calavo Growers in the fourth quarter worth about $5,190,000. Institutional investors own 81.30% of the company's stock.

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.