Small-Cap Stocks with Lowest Dividend Growth Grades
- Dividend Growth Rating Overview: Alico (ALCO) has received an F grade in dividend growth according to Seeking Alpha's comprehensive scoring system, indicating a lack of commitment to increasing shareholder returns, which may undermine investor confidence.
- List of Low-Rated Stocks: The list includes Arko (ARKO), Brandywine Realty Trust (BDN), Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL), and Cogent Communications (CCOI), all rated F, suggesting these companies are performing poorly in dividend growth, potentially leading to investor sell-offs.
- Industry Distribution: These low-rated stocks span various sectors, including agricultural products, automotive retail, office REITs, and restaurants, reflecting a common challenge faced by many small-cap stocks in achieving dividend growth under varying market conditions, which could impact their long-term investment appeal.
- Investor Evaluation Criteria: The dividend growth rating serves as a crucial metric for assessing a company's history of dividend payments, with grades of D+ or below considered sell signals, prompting investors to carefully evaluate the risks associated with these stocks.
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- Dividend Growth Rating Overview: Alico (ALCO) has received an F grade in dividend growth according to Seeking Alpha's comprehensive scoring system, indicating a lack of commitment to increasing shareholder returns, which may undermine investor confidence.
- List of Low-Rated Stocks: The list includes Arko (ARKO), Brandywine Realty Trust (BDN), Cracker Barrel Old Country Store (CBRL), and Cogent Communications (CCOI), all rated F, suggesting these companies are performing poorly in dividend growth, potentially leading to investor sell-offs.
- Industry Distribution: These low-rated stocks span various sectors, including agricultural products, automotive retail, office REITs, and restaurants, reflecting a common challenge faced by many small-cap stocks in achieving dividend growth under varying market conditions, which could impact their long-term investment appeal.
- Investor Evaluation Criteria: The dividend growth rating serves as a crucial metric for assessing a company's history of dividend payments, with grades of D+ or below considered sell signals, prompting investors to carefully evaluate the risks associated with these stocks.
- Financial Improvement: Alico reported $7.7 million in land sales for Q1 2026, with net loss improving to $3.5 million from $9.2 million in the prior year, demonstrating the effectiveness of its land monetization strategy and boosting investor confidence.
- Positive EBITDA: The company achieved positive EBITDA of $2.4 million compared to a negative $6.7 million last year, indicating the cash-generating potential of its transformed business model, with an expected adjusted EBITDA of approximately $14 million for fiscal year 2026, further validating its financial stability.
- Increased Land Utilization: A 10-year lease with Bayer Crop Science has resulted in a 97% utilization rate of approximately 32,500 farmable acres, enhancing economic efficiency and laying the groundwork for future development projects, which are expected to create significant value for the company.
- Development Project Potential: Alico is advancing four real estate development projects totaling about 5,500 acres, with an estimated present value between $335 million and $380 million, a strategic move that will help the company achieve a higher market valuation in the future.
- Earnings Miss: Alico's Q1 GAAP EPS of -$0.45 fell short by $0.07, with revenue of $1.89M reflecting an 88.8% year-over-year decline, missing expectations by $0.23M, resulting in a 1.66% drop in share price.
- 2026 Fiscal Guidance: The company anticipates an adjusted EBITDA of approximately $14 million for fiscal year 2026, ending the year with around $50 million in cash and net debt of about $35 million, indicating potential financial strain.
- Shareholder Return Risks: Should any capital be returned to shareholders through increased common dividends, special dividends, tender offers, or open market repurchases during fiscal 2026, the company's cash balance could decrease and net debt could rise, introducing financial uncertainty.
- Real Estate Project Value: Alico outlines a near-term real estate project value between $335 million and $380 million, as land sales and transformations continue, highlighting the company's potential and strategic positioning in the real estate sector.

- Land Sale Progress: Alico has completed the sale of a 2,950-acre citrus grove in Hendry County for $26.8 million in gross proceeds, marking another milestone in its land monetization strategy and further advancing its transformation from traditional citrus operations to a diversified land company.
- Improved Financial Flexibility: As of September 30, 2025, Alico's total debt stood at $85.5 million, down from $92.1 million at the end of fiscal year 2024, resulting in a net debt position of $47.4 million, significantly enhancing the company's financial flexibility to support future development projects.
- Utilization of Agricultural Land: Alico has achieved a 97% utilization rate of its farmable agricultural land, demonstrating its commitment to the Florida agricultural community while creating diversified revenue streams through revenue-sharing agreements with citrus growers and cattle operators, thus reducing operational complexity.
- Shareholder Return Program: The Alico Board of Directors has authorized a buyback of up to $50 million of common stock, set to expire on April 1, 2028, reflecting the company's ongoing commitment to shareholder value creation while providing flexibility for future capital return options.
Alico's Quarterly Performance: Alico (ALCO) reported a quarterly loss of $1.1 per share, significantly worse than the expected loss of $0.39, marking an earnings surprise of -182.05%. The company has struggled to meet consensus EPS estimates over the last four quarters.
Revenue Insights: Despite the loss, Alico's revenues for the quarter reached $0.8 million, exceeding the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 167.33%, although this is a decline from $0.94 million a year ago. The company has surpassed revenue estimates twice in the last four quarters.
Stock Outlook and Industry Context: Alico shares have increased by 22.4% since the start of the year, outperforming the S&P 500. However, the stock currently holds a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), indicating expected performance in line with the market, influenced by the broader Agriculture - Operations industry, which ranks in the bottom 16% of Zacks industries.
Limoneira's Upcoming Report: Limoneira (LMNR), another company in the same industry, is expected to report a quarterly loss of $0.12 per share, with revenues projected to decline by 14.7% year-over-year to $37.4 million. The consensus EPS estimate for Limoneira has remained unchanged over the past month.
Stocks Added to Zacks Rank #5: Equinox Gold (EQX), Cantaloupe (CTLP), and Alico (ALCO) have been added to the Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell) List due to significant downward revisions in their earnings estimates over the past 60 days.
Equinox Gold: The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Equinox Gold's current year earnings has been revised down by approximately 26.5%.
Cantaloupe: Cantaloupe's current year earnings estimate has been adjusted downward by 6.7%.
Alico: Alico's earnings estimate for the current year has seen a downward revision of nearly 5.8%.









