Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) Short Interest Down 11.3% in December

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 256,800 shares, a decrease of 11.3% from the November 30th total of 289,400 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 279,600 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 0.9 days. Approximately 0.7% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,060,576 shares of the company’s stock worth $31,329,000 after purchasing an additional 59,521 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 185.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 70,694 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,087,000 after buying an additional 45,952 shares during the last quarter. Chesapeake Capital Corp IL acquired a new stake in Fresh Del Monte Produce in the third quarter valued at $592,000. D.A. Davidson & CO. bought a new position in Fresh Del Monte Produce during the 3rd quarter valued at $583,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 36,710 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,066,000 after acquiring an additional 5,587 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 64.83% of the company’s stock.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:FDP traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $33.21. 234,116 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 262,598. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $33.11 and its 200 day simple moving average is $28.79. The firm has a market cap of $1.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 100.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a quick ratio of 1.04 and a current ratio of 2.09. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a 52-week low of $21.23 and a 52-week high of $35.27.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.47 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $989.45 million. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a net margin of 0.36% and a return on equity of 5.91%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.6% compared to the same quarter last year.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. Fresh Del Monte Produce’s dividend payout ratio is presently 303.03%.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc, through its subsidiaries, produces, markets, and distributes fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables in North America, Central America, South America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Fresh and Value-Added Products, Banana, and Other Products and Services.