Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) Rating Increased to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) to a sell rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

Separately, Lake Street Capital reduced their price objective on Limoneira from $25.00 to $23.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 13th.

Limoneira Stock Down 1.8 %

LMNR stock opened at $17.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $316.87 million, a PE ratio of 46.21 and a beta of 0.46. Limoneira has a 12 month low of $17.12 and a 12 month high of $29.22. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $21.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $24.59.

Limoneira declared that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Monday, March 17th that permits the company to repurchase $30.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to reacquire up to 8.8% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Limoneira Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.075 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This represents a $0.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.71%. Limoneira’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.17%.

Institutional Trading of Limoneira

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its holdings in shares of Limoneira by 3,345.9% during the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,550 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 2,476 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Limoneira by 77.5% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,581 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 1,127 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in shares of Limoneira by 14.3% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,486 shares of the company’s stock valued at $92,000 after purchasing an additional 436 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Limoneira by 20.1% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 6,924 shares of the company’s stock worth $169,000 after purchasing an additional 1,160 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Limoneira by 27.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,086 shares of the company’s stock worth $241,000 after purchasing an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. 64.35% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Limoneira Company Profile

Limoneira Company operates as an agribusiness and real estate development company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three divisions: Agribusiness, Rental Operations, and Real Estate Development. It grows, processes, packs, markets, and sells lemons. The company also grows avocado, oranges, and specialty citrus and other crops, including Moro blood oranges, Cara Cara oranges, Valencia oranges, Minneola tangelos, Star Ruby grapefruit, pummelos, and wine grapes.