Dole (NYSE:DOLE) Sets New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Dole PLC (NYSE:DOLE) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $15.36 and last traded at $15.27, with a volume of 1145691 shares. The stock had previously closed at $14.77.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on DOLE shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Dole in a report on Monday. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Dole in a research note on Friday, September 12th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $16.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Dole from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Dole Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 103.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.90. The business’s fifty day moving average is $13.67 and its 200-day moving average is $13.87.

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 10th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by ($0.01). Dole had a net margin of 0.17% and a return on equity of 7.98%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Dole PLC will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dole Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 9th will be paid a $0.085 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 9th. This represents a $0.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.2%. Dole’s payout ratio is presently 226.67%.

Dole announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Monday, November 10th that permits the company to repurchase $100.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 8.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Dole

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Osaic Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Dole by 120.8% during the 2nd quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 1,835 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 1,004 shares in the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Dole in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. State of Alaska Department of Revenue bought a new stake in Dole during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Dole by 269.0% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 3,716 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dole during the 1st quarter valued at $64,000.

About Dole

Dole Food Company, Inc (Dole) is a producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruit and fresh vegetables. The Company is a producer of bananas and pineapples, and packaged fruit products, packaged salads and fresh-packed vegetables. The Company has three business segments: fresh fruit, fresh vegetables and packaged foods.