Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (FDP) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.30 on March 28th

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) declared a quarterly dividend on Friday, February 21st, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of 0.30 per share on Friday, March 28th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a 20.0% increase from Fresh Del Monte Produce’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25.

Fresh Del Monte Produce has increased its dividend by an average of 26.0% annually over the last three years. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a dividend payout ratio of 40.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Performance

Shares of FDP stock opened at $31.23 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.50 billion, a PE ratio of 94.64 and a beta of 0.33. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a 52-week low of $21.23 and a 52-week high of $35.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $31.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.08. 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 earnings results on Monday, February 24th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $1.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.25 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .5% on a year-over-year basis.

Fresh Del Monte Produce declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Monday, February 24th that allows the company to buyback $150.00 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the company to reacquire up to 10.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Ziad Nabulsi sold 1,725 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $349,769.16. This represents a 13.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, COO Mohammed Abbas sold 5,064 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.42, for a total value of $154,046.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 45,560 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,385,935.20. This represents a 10.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 9,321 shares of company stock worth $283,545. Company insiders own 30.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.