Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Earns Equal Weight Rating from Analysts at Stephens

Stephens started coverage on shares of Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) in a research note published on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $82.00 target price on the basic materials company’s stock.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Up 6.2 %

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods stock opened at $84.57 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $71.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.42. The stock has a market cap of $4.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.99 and a beta of -0.10. Cal-Maine Foods has a 12-month low of $43.50 and a 12-month high of $84.67.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $785.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.65 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 11.94% and a return on equity of 16.46%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.02 earnings per share.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be issued a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This is a boost from Cal-Maine Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 54.61%.

Insider Transactions at Cal-Maine Foods

In related news, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $106,395.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,361.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Cal-Maine Foods news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.20, for a total value of $210,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,762. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $106,395.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,361.22. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $422,970 over the last three months. 13.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 1,975.0% in the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 553 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC grew its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 120.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 341 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 32,400.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 648 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the period. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cal-Maine Foods Company Profile

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, produces, grades, packages, markets, and distributes shell eggs. The company offers specialty shell eggs, such as nutritionally enhanced, cage free, organic, free-range, pasture-raised, and brown eggs under the Egg-Land's Best, Land O' Lakes, Farmhouse Eggs, Sunups, Sunny Meadow, and 4Grain brand names.