Short Interest in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) Rises By 36.3%

Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of January. As of January 15th, there was short interest totaling 720,472 shares, a growth of 36.3% from the December 31st total of 528,771 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 489,985 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Currently, 4.3% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 489,985 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.5 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Calavo Growers

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its holdings in Calavo Growers by 4.1% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 9,985 shares of the company’s stock worth $240,000 after buying an additional 390 shares during the period. Engineers Gate Manager LP raised its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP now owns 38,354 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,020,000 after acquiring an additional 422 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 14,724 shares of the company’s stock valued at $392,000 after purchasing an additional 469 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 23.1% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,648 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 685 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Calavo Growers by 7.0% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,956 shares of the company’s stock valued at $282,000 after purchasing an additional 716 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CVGW. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Calavo Growers in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Calavo Growers from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, December 13th. Finally, Stephens dropped their price objective on Calavo Growers from $28.00 to $27.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Calavo Growers currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Calavo Growers Trading Down 0.3%

NASDAQ CVGW opened at $25.37 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $453.36 million, a P/E ratio of 23.06 and a beta of 0.39. Calavo Growers has a fifty-two week low of $18.40 and a fifty-two week high of $28.72. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $22.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $24.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.02, a quick ratio of 1.92 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 14th. The company reported $0.25 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.37 by ($0.12). Calavo Growers had a net margin of 3.05% and a return on equity of 13.43%. The business had revenue of $124.68 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $147.95 million. On average, analysts forecast that Calavo Growers will post 1.87 earnings per share for the current year.

Calavo Growers Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 13th were given a $0.20 dividend. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 13th. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.73%.

About Calavo Growers

Calavo Growers, Inc (NASDAQ:CVGW), founded in 1924 and headquartered in Santa Paula, California, is a global supplier and distributor of fresh avocados and perishable foods. The company partners with growers in key producing regions to source, ripen and package whole avocados for retail, wholesale and foodservice customers. Calavo’s commitment to quality and food safety underpins its position as a trusted link between growers and end-markets.

The company operates two segments: Fresh and Calavo Foods.