Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Sell” Rating

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

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

Limoneira Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of LMNR stock opened at $17.56 on Friday. Limoneira has a 52-week low of $17.12 and a 52-week high of $29.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market cap of $316.87 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.21 and a beta of 0.46. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $21.46 and its 200-day moving average is $24.60.

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

Limoneira Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.075 dividend. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.71%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. Limoneira’s payout ratio is presently 73.17%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of LMNR. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Limoneira by 14.3% during the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 3,486 shares of the company’s stock worth $92,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Limoneira by 269.7% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 21,708 shares of the company’s stock worth $575,000 after purchasing an additional 15,836 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Limoneira by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 311,388 shares of the company’s stock worth $8,252,000 after purchasing an additional 11,003 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Limoneira by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 120,532 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,948,000 after purchasing an additional 3,932 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Limoneira by 27.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 9,086 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after buying an additional 1,981 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.35% of the company’s stock.

About Limoneira

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.