Squarepoint Ops LLC Takes $724,000 Position in Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW)

Squarepoint Ops LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 31,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $724,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC owned about 0.18% of Calavo Growers at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of CVGW. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Calavo Growers by 246.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 261,316 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,932,000 after acquiring an additional 185,946 shares during the last quarter. SG Capital Management LLC increased its position in Calavo Growers by 51.4% during the 1st quarter. SG Capital Management LLC now owns 404,278 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,243,000 after purchasing an additional 137,325 shares in the last quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC increased its position in Calavo Growers by 111.4% during the 2nd quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 60,861 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,382,000 after purchasing an additional 32,077 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $346,000. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Calavo Growers during the 1st quarter worth approximately $276,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised shares of Calavo Growers from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 3rd.

Calavo Growers Stock Up 1.1 %

CVGW opened at $28.80 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $512.64 million, a PE ratio of -320.00 and a beta of 0.57. Calavo Growers, Inc. has a 1 year low of $20.30 and a 1 year high of $31.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $25.35 and a 200 day moving average price of $25.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a quick ratio of 1.77 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Calavo Growers (NASDAQ:CVGW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, September 9th. The company reported $0.57 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $179.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $175.00 million. Calavo Growers had a positive return on equity of 6.35% and a negative net margin of 1.21%. Sell-side analysts expect that Calavo Growers, Inc. will post 1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Calavo Growers Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.20 per share. This is a boost from Calavo Growers’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 2nd. Calavo Growers’s dividend payout ratio is -888.89%.

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.