Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (FDP) Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Investment Research

Posted by on Jul 31st, 2016

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. (NYSE:FDP) was downgraded by Zacks Investment Research from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday.

According to Zacks, “Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc. is a world leader in the production, distribution and marketing of fresh produce. The products are marketed throughout the world under the DEL MONTE brand name and is a widely recognized symbol of product quality and reliability. The major products are bananas, pineapples, deciduous fruit and melons. The deciduous fruit the company sells includes primarily grapes, plums, nectarines, peaches, apricots, cherries, apples, pears and citrus. “

In other Fresh Del Monte Produce news, CEO Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh sold 54,567 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $47.40, for a total value of $2,586,475.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 5,501,954 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $260,792,619.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ghazaleh Amir Abu sold 11,201 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.91, for a total value of $592,644.91. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,360,000 shares in the company, valued at $177,777,600. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

A number of hedge funds and institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of FDP. Bridgeway Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Bridgeway Capital Management Inc. now owns 179,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,973,000 after buying an additional 550 shares in the last quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 38.1% in the second quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 2,900 shares of the company’s stock worth $158,000 after buying an additional 800 shares in the last quarter. Hancock Holding Co. raised its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 0.4% in the first quarter. Hancock Holding Co. now owns 260,535 shares of the company’s stock worth $10,961,000 after buying an additional 910 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 61,762 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its position in shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce by 111.6% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 3,641 shares of the company’s stock worth $198,000 after buying an additional 1,920 shares in the last quarter.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Wunderlich reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $50.00 price objective (up previously from $45.00) on shares of Fresh Del Monte Produce in a research note on Wednesday, May 4th. Sidoti initiated coverage on Fresh Del Monte Produce in a report on Thursday, May 12th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $54.00 target price on the stock.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) traded down 0.64% during trading on Tuesday, hitting $57.21. 192,881 shares of the stock traded hands. Fresh Del Monte Produce has a one year low of $36.56 and a one year high of $57.92. The stock has a market cap of $2.91 billion and a PE ratio of 29.87. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $54.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $46.40.

Fresh Del Monte Produce (NYSE:FDP) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 3rd. The company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.73. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 1.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Fresh Del Monte Produce will post $3.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Fresh Del Monte Produce Inc is a holding company. Through its subsidiaries, the Company is engaged in sourcing, transportation and marketing of fresh and fresh-cut fruit and vegetables together with prepared food products in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The Company’s operations are aggregated into business segments on the basis of its products: bananas, other fresh produce and prepared food.