Fox Run Management L.L.C. Invests $173,000 in Dole PLC $DOLE

Fox Run Management L.L.C. bought a new position in shares of Dole PLC (NYSE:DOLE) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 12,346 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $173,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Savant Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Dole in the 2nd quarter worth $234,000. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Dole by 71.4% during the second quarter. Hussman Strategic Advisors Inc. now owns 252,000 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,525,000 after acquiring an additional 105,000 shares during the period. Corton Capital Inc. bought a new position in Dole during the second quarter valued at about $323,000. Keybank National Association OH bought a new stake in shares of Dole in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $279,000. Finally, Waterfront Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Dole by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Waterfront Wealth Inc. now owns 95,034 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,330,000 after acquiring an additional 1,241 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on DOLE. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Dole in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Dole in a research report on Friday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $16.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Dole from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $16.00.

Dole Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of DOLE stock opened at $13.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.86, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.65. Dole PLC has a 12-month low of $12.20 and a 12-month high of $15.72. The company has a quick ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.67. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $13.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $13.87.

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.17 by ($0.01). Dole had a return on equity of 8.17% and a net margin of 0.28%.The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Dole PLC will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dole announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Monday, November 10th that allows the company to buyback $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to buy up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Dole Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be given a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 9th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.4%. Dole’s payout ratio is presently 226.67%.

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.