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

Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Marketbeat reports. The firm 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 target price on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Cal-Maine Foods Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CALM opened at $84.57 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $71.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.42. The company has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99 and a beta of -0.10. Cal-Maine Foods has a 1 year low of $43.50 and a 1 year high of $84.67.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last posted its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $785.87 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.65 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 16.46% and a net margin of 11.94%. Cal-Maine Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.02 EPS.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid 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 is Wednesday, October 30th. This is an increase from Cal-Maine Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 54.61%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 16,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,361.22. This 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.20, for a total value of $210,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,310 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 16,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,361.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $422,970 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 13.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $282,219,000 after acquiring an additional 23,915 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 4.6% during the 2nd 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 period. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,115,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,286,000 after buying an additional 110,900 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,013,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,948,000 after buying an additional 82,772 shares during the period. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP purchased a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $47,771,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

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.