Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.21 EPS

Limoneira (NASDAQ:LMNR) announced its quarterly earnings results on Sunday. The company reported ($0.42) EPS for the quarter, missing the Thomson Reuters’ consensus estimate of ($0.21) by ($0.21), MarketWatch Earnings reports. Limoneira had a negative return on equity of 4.17% and a negative net margin of 7.05%.

LMNR opened at $17.11 on Tuesday. Limoneira has a 52-week low of $10.60 and a 52-week high of $21.85. The company has a 50 day moving average of $15.88 and a two-hundred day moving average of $14.75. The company has a market cap of $304.83 million, a P/E ratio of -23.76, a P/E/G ratio of 5.62 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59.

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Investors of record on Monday, December 28th will be issued a $0.075 dividend. This is a positive change from Limoneira’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 24th. This represents a $0.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.75%. Limoneira’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -66.67%.

In other Limoneira news, CEO Harold S. Edwards sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total value of $153,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 164,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,798,387. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mark Palamountain sold 5,850 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.00, for a total transaction of $99,450.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 63,787 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,084,379. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on LMNR shares. Zacks Investment Research raised Limoneira from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, December 25th. BidaskClub upgraded Limoneira from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 23rd. Finally, TheStreet upgraded Limoneira from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Limoneira has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $18.20.

About Limoneira

Limoneira Company operates as an agribusiness and real estate development company in the United States and internationally. The company operates through six segments: Fresh Lemons, Lemon Packing, Avocados, Other Agribusiness, Rental Operations, and Real Estate Development. It grows, processes, packs, markets, and sells lemons.

Featured Article: What is the CAC 40 Index