Short Interest in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) Decreases By 20.3%

Key Points

• Short interest in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) decreased by 20.3% in August, dropping from 613,800 shares to 489,200 shares.
• Calavo Growers reported $0.40 earnings per share for the previous quarter, missing analysts' expectations of $0.53, while revenue came in at $190.55 million.
• Institutional investors hold 81.30% of Calavo Growers' stock, with notable increases in holdings from firms like Nuance Investments LLC and Vanguard Group Inc.

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest during the month of August. As of August 15th, there was short interest totaling 489,200 shares, a decrease of 20.3% from the July 31st total of 613,800 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 312,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days. Approximately 2.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Approximately 2.9% of the company's stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 312,400 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.6 days.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Calavo Growers

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Spire Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Calavo Growers in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new position in shares of Calavo Growers during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. CWM LLC raised its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 5,960.5% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,303 shares of the company's stock worth $55,000 after acquiring an additional 2,265 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 673.0% during the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,775 shares of the company's stock worth $74,000 after acquiring an additional 2,416 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming purchased a new position in shares of Calavo Growers during the fourth quarter worth approximately $99,000. 81.30% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on CVGW shares. Stephens upgraded shares of Calavo Growers to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Calavo Growers from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Lake Street Capital upped their target price on shares of Calavo Growers from $35.00 to $40.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $40.00.

Calavo Growers Price Performance

Shares of Calavo Growers stock traded down $0.39 on Friday, reaching $27.37. The stock had a trading volume of 223,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 163,627. Calavo Growers has a 1 year low of $21.46 and a 1 year high of $30.02. The company has a market cap of $488.64 million, a P/E ratio of 31.10 and a beta of 0.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.30, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02. The business's 50 day moving average is $27.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $25.98.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.54 by $0.03. Calavo Growers had a net margin of 2.28% and a return on equity of 11.73%. The firm had revenue of $178.82 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $195.20 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down .4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Calavo Growers will post 1.87 EPS for the current year.

Calavo Growers Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be paid a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 30th. Calavo Growers's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 90.91%.

Calavo Growers Company 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.