Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) Short Interest Up 31.0% in February

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) saw a significant increase in short interest in February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, an increase of 31.0% from the February 13th total of 900,900 shares. Approximately 3.0% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 349,400 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.4 days.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, CFO Monica Vicente sold 2,532 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total transaction of $77,023.44. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,808 shares in the company, valued at approximately $328,779.36. The trade was a 18.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Ziad Nabulsi sold 1,725 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total value of $52,474.50. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 11,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $349,769.16. The trade was a 13.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,321 shares of company stock worth $283,545. 30.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Fresh Del Monte Produce

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the fourth quarter valued at $350,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the fourth quarter valued at $48,000. Teza Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 99.6% in the fourth quarter. Teza Capital Management LLC now owns 16,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $564,000 after purchasing an additional 8,476 shares during the last quarter. State of Wyoming acquired a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 44.5% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,182 shares of the company’s stock valued at $338,000 after purchasing an additional 3,135 shares during the last quarter. 64.83% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com raised Fresh Del Monte Produce from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Performance

NYSE FDP opened at $29.89 on Wednesday. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a fifty-two week low of $21.23 and a fifty-two week high of $35.27. The stock has a market cap of $1.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 90.58 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.73 and a 200-day moving average of $31.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by ($0.16). Fresh Del Monte Produce had a return on equity of 5.91% and a net margin of 0.36%. The company had revenue of $1.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.25 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.30 dividend. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.01%. This is a boost from Fresh Del Monte Produce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s payout ratio is 40.40%.

Fresh Del Monte Produce declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Monday, February 24th that authorizes the company to repurchase $150.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 10.4% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc, through its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fresh and Value-Added Products, Banana, and Other Products and Services.