Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Rating Increased to Buy at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Separately, Stephens began coverage on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of CALM stock traded down $0.01 on Friday, reaching $90.43. 407,799 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 602,156. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $83.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.65. Cal-Maine Foods has a 1-year low of $45.07 and a 1-year high of $95.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.36 and a beta of -0.12.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.06 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.30). The company 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 16.09% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.02 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Cal-Maine Foods will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cal-Maine Foods

In related news, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $106,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,361.22. This represents a 8.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 13.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,795,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,219,000 after purchasing an additional 23,915 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 4.6% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,863,000 after purchasing an additional 114,995 shares during the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 5.5% in the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,115,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $129,286,000 after buying an additional 110,900 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 3.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,609,388 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $120,447,000 after acquiring an additional 46,187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 4.3% in the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 1,561,672 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $116,876,000 after purchasing an additional 64,489 shares in the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cal-Maine Foods

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.