Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires New Shares in Dole PLC $DOLE

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Dole PLC (NYSE:DOLE) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 46,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. bought a new position in shares of Dole during the third quarter valued at $10,924,000. Panview Capital Ltd raised its position in Dole by 104.6% in the 4th quarter. Panview Capital Ltd now owns 1,431,975 shares of the company’s stock worth $21,465,000 after buying an additional 731,975 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Dole by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 4,999,095 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,438,000 after buying an additional 659,892 shares during the last quarter. Fort Baker Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Dole during the 3rd quarter valued at about $7,469,000. Finally, River Road Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Dole by 12.9% during the 4th quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,617,435 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,215,000 after acquiring an additional 525,801 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on DOLE shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Dole from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Dole from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $14.00 target price on shares of Dole in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dole presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $15.00.

Dole Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of NYSE:DOLE opened at $13.77 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $13.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $14.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. Dole PLC has a 52-week low of $12.52 and a 52-week high of $16.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.28.

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.46 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. Dole had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 7.06%. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.53 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.55 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Dole PLC will post 1.4 EPS for the current year.

Dole Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 16th. Dole’s dividend payout ratio is currently 54.84%.

About Dole

Dole plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables. The company’s product range includes bananas, pineapples, berries, grapes, salads and a variety of other fresh and packaged produce, sold under the Dole brand and through private-label arrangements. Dole’s operations span the full fresh-produce value chain, from farming and sourcing to packing, ripening, cold‑chain logistics and wholesale and retail distribution, supporting both retail grocery and foodservice customers.

The company traces its commercial heritage to the early 20th century Hawaiian pineapple business founded by James Dole and has evolved through subsequent corporate restructurings and combinations.