Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:DMC) Shares Down 7.5% – Here’s What Happened

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc (NYSE:DMC) fell 7.5% on Thursday. The company traded as low as $27.20 and last traded at $26.8390. Approximately 547,769 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 44% from the average session volume of 381,014 shares. The stock had previously closed at $29.00.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded Fresh Del Monte Produce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 12th. Weiss Ratings initiated coverage on shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. They issued a “hold (c)” rating on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating. According to MarketBeat, Fresh Del Monte Produce currently has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a PE ratio of 37.92 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.67.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:DMC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.46 by $0.04. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 6.43%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.69 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 4th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 11th will be paid a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 10th. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s dividend payout ratio is 169.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Mohammed Abbas acquired 12,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 4th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $29.89 per share, for a total transaction of $358,680.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief operating officer directly owned 71,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,987.70. This trade represents a 20.02% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 30.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fresh Del Monte Produce

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in DMC. NewEdge Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $4,023,000. Engineers Gate Manager LP acquired a new stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,141,000. Outfitters Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce during the second quarter worth $912,000. Inspire Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce during the third quarter valued at about $635,000. Finally, SummerHaven Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 56.3% in the third quarter. SummerHaven Investment Management LLC now owns 35,533 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,050,000 after purchasing an additional 12,806 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.83% of the company’s stock.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc is a vertically integrated producer, distributor and marketer of fresh and prepared fruits and vegetables. Its product portfolio includes bananas, pineapples, melons, avocados, berries, grapes, tomatoes and other fresh produce, along with prepared fruit, vegetables, juices and snacks sold under the Del Monte brand and other labels.

The company manages activities across the produce supply chain, including cultivation, sourcing, harvesting, processing, packaging, transportation and distribution.