Dole (NYSE:DOLE) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.01 EPS

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) issued its earnings results on Monday. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.01), Zacks reports. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. Dole had a net margin of 0.28% and a return on equity of 8.17%. Dole’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS.

Dole Trading Down 0.3%

NYSE:DOLE opened at $13.76 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $1.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.71, a PEG ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 1.01 and a current ratio of 1.26. Dole has a 1 year low of $12.20 and a 1 year high of $15.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $13.27 and a 200-day moving average of $13.88.

Dole Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 9th. Dole’s payout ratio is presently 226.67%.

Dole declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Monday, November 10th that allows the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to repurchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dole

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Osaic Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Dole by 120.8% in the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 1,004 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Dole by 269.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock worth $52,000 after buying an additional 2,709 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Dole by 724.2% in the second quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 16,690 shares of the company’s stock worth $233,000 after buying an additional 14,665 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Dole by 96.4% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 22,106 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 10,849 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vident Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dole during the 2nd quarter worth $429,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on DOLE. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dole in a report on Wednesday, November 5th. Stephens started coverage on Dole in a research report on Friday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $16.00 target price for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded Dole from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

About Dole

Dole Food Company, Inc (Dole) is a producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. The Company is a producer of bananas and pineapples, and packaged fruit products, packaged salads and fresh-packed vegetables. The Company has three business segments: fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and packaged foods.