Dole (NYSE:DOLE) Stock Rating Lowered by Zacks Research

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Freedom Broker began coverage on shares of Dole in a report on Wednesday, November 4th. They set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank set a $14.00 price target on shares of Dole in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Dole from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Thursday, September 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Dole presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $14.00.

Dole Stock Performance

DOLE stock opened at $14.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $13.32 and a 200 day simple moving average of $14.25. Dole has a 52 week low of $12.59 and a 52 week high of $16.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.63 and a beta of 0.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.13.

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The company reported $0.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.32 by ($0.16). Dole had a net margin of 0.97% and a return on equity of 7.05%. The company had revenue of $2.37 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Dole will post 1.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Dole

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in DOLE. Voya Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Dole by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 189,315 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,406,000 after acquiring an additional 43,005 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in Dole during the third quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Dole by 0.5% during the third quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 181,597 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,308,000 after purchasing an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC grew its holdings in Dole by 46.3% during the third quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 163,858 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,083,000 after purchasing an additional 51,859 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Dole by 41.9% during the third quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 31,913 shares of the company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 9,431 shares during the last quarter.

Dole Company Profile

Dole plc is an international fresh produce company that sources, grows, packs, ships, markets and distributes fruit and vegetables. Its products include bananas, pineapples and other fresh fruit, as well as vegetables and packaged salads sold under the Dole brand and other labels. The company serves retail, wholesale and food-service customers across a range of markets. Its operations span multiple regions, connecting produce growers and farms with customers through its global sourcing, logistics and distribution network.