Dole (NYSE:DOLE) Shares Gap Down – Here’s What Happened

Dole PLC (NYSE:DOLE) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $15.99, but opened at $14.90. Dole shares last traded at $15.0340, with a volume of 166,183 shares changing hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on DOLE shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Dole from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Dole in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Dole currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $16.00.

Dole Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $15.34 and a 200-day moving average of $14.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.21, a quick ratio of 0.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 0.64.

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The company reported $0.14 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.12 by $0.02. Dole had a return on equity of 7.81% and a net margin of 0.56%.The business had revenue of $2.37 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. The business’s revenue was up 9.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.16 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Dole PLC will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Dole Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 8th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 18th will be issued a dividend of $0.085 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, March 18th. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. Dole’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.15%.

Dole announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Monday, November 10th that authorizes the company to repurchase $100.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 8.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Dole

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of DOLE. River Road Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Dole by 12.9% in the fourth quarter. River Road Asset Management LLC now owns 4,617,435 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,215,000 after purchasing an additional 525,801 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Dole by 103.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 264,074 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,958,000 after buying an additional 134,558 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Dole by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 42,190 shares of the company’s stock worth $632,000 after buying an additional 678 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Dole by 10.8% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 13,462 shares of the company’s stock worth $201,000 after buying an additional 1,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Dole by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Voloridge Investment Management LLC now owns 512,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,676,000 after buying an additional 83,368 shares during the period.

Dole Company Profile

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.