Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $640,000 in Dole PLC $DOLE

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Dole PLC (NYSE:DOLE) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 46,657 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $640,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quartz Partners LLC bought a new position in Dole in the second quarter worth $194,000. Foster & Motley Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Dole during the 2nd quarter valued at $772,000. Phillips Wealth Planners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Dole during the 2nd quarter valued at $184,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Dole by 13.2% in the 2nd quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 6,902 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 803 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC grew its position in shares of Dole by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 449,398 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,422,000 after buying an additional 16,811 shares during the period.

Dole Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE DOLE opened at $13.77 on Thursday. Dole PLC has a 12 month low of $12.52 and a 12 month high of $16.57. The stock has a market cap of $1.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $13.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $14.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Dole (NYSE:DOLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, August 10th. The company reported $0.46 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.46. The firm had revenue of $2.50 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.53 billion. Dole had a return on equity of 7.06% and a net margin of 0.63%.The company’s revenue was up 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.55 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Dole PLC will post 1.4 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Dole Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, September 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.085 per share. This represents a $0.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, September 16th. Dole’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.84%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

DOLE has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $14.00 price target on shares of Dole in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Dole from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Dole from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $15.00.

About Dole

Dole plc is a global producer, marketer and distributor of fresh fruits and vegetables. The company’s product range includes bananas, pineapples, berries, grapes, salads and a variety of other fresh and packaged produce, sold under the Dole brand and through private-label arrangements. Dole’s operations span the full fresh-produce value chain, from farming and sourcing to packing, ripening, cold?chain logistics and wholesale and retail distribution, supporting both retail grocery and foodservice customers.

The company traces its commercial heritage to the early 20th century Hawaiian pineapple business founded by James Dole and has evolved through subsequent corporate restructurings and combinations.