Here's why CVGW stock could be one for the shorts
Calavo Growers, Inc. (NASDAQ:CVGW) is an international consumer goods and farm products company that primarily operates in the global avocado industry. Calavo Growers packages, and distributes avocados and other fruits, as well as fresh prepared food to restaurants, retail grocery stores, mass merchandisers, food distributors, and wholesalers worldwide. This morning, CVGW is trading flat at $74.07.
Last month Calavo Growers announced that it will be releasing its second quarter of fiscal 2021 financial results after the market closes on Tuesday, June 8. In recent history, CVGW has outperformed Wall street's earnings expectations on just one of its last four earnings reports.
For the second quarter of fiscal 2020, Calavo Growers missed analyst estimates by a margin of $0.08 and reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.40. For the third quarter of fiscal 2020, CVGW increased its EPS to $0.73 and beat expectations by a margin of $0.01. For the fourth quarter of fiscal 2020, Calavo Growers reported a decrease in earnings, dropping to $0.34 per share, and missing estimates by a margin of $0.30. For the first quarter of fiscal 2021, Calavo Growers posted an EPS of $0.17 and missed expectations by a margin of $0.03.
Calavo Growers stock has increased about 25% year-over-year and is up 32% since reaching its two-year low of $56.06. Additionally, shares of Calavo Growers stock have grown 7.8% year-to-date, but CVGW is currently trading down about 13% from its 52-week high of $85.40. Calavo Growers also has a forward dividend of $1.15 and a dividend yield of 1.60%.
From a fundamental perspective, Calavo Growers has performed poorly in almost every fundamental aspect. CVGW currently holds a relatively small cash balance of $8.17 million, which is made to look worse by its $108.55 million in total debt that the company holds. Overall, Calavo Growers will need to report some positive figures in the upcoming earnings in order to maintain/regain investor confidence. However, at the moment, CVGW looks like an opportunity for the short sellers, considering Calavo Growers stock’s recent growth and the company’s poor fundamentals.