Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) Raised to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) was upgraded by Wall Street Zen from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Saturday.

Separately, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in a research note on Monday, December 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold”.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Stock Performance

NYSE FDP opened at $41.29 on Friday. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a twelve month low of $26.50 and a twelve month high of $42.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.06, a current ratio of 2.16 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.09. The stock has a market cap of $1.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.96 and a beta of 0.30. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $37.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.41.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 18th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by $0.42. Fresh Del Monte Produce had a return on equity of 7.63% and a net margin of 2.10%.The company had revenue of $968.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.01 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .6% on a year-over-year basis.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, CEO Ghazaleh Mohammad Abu sold 28,558 shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce stock in a transaction on Monday, December 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.42, for a total value of $1,097,198.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 4,962,224 shares in the company, valued at approximately $190,648,646.08. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 30.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fresh Del Monte Produce

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in FDP. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in the second quarter valued at about $44,011,000. LSV Asset Management increased its position in Fresh Del Monte Produce by 148.3% in the 2nd quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 1,439,958 shares of the company’s stock valued at $46,683,000 after acquiring an additional 859,940 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in the fourth quarter worth about $21,174,000. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 1,647.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 596,496 shares of the company’s stock worth $18,390,000 after purchasing an additional 562,356 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 289.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 243,686 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,900,000 after purchasing an additional 181,145 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 64.83% of the company’s stock.

About Fresh Del Monte Produce

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc is a leading producer, marketer and distributor of fresh and fresh-cut fruits and vegetables worldwide. The company offers a wide range of products including bananas, pineapples, melons, grapes and avocados, along with value-added items such as fruit salads, vegetable trays and snack packs under the Del Monte® brand.

Founded in 1989 as a spin-off from Del Monte, Fresh Del Monte has developed a global supply chain that spans production farms, ripening facilities and packaging centers across Latin America, North America, Europe, Asia and Africa.