Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Shares Up 5.7% Following Dividend Announcement

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) shot up 5.7% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The stock traded as high as $47.88 and last traded at $47.88. 353,468 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 60% from the average session volume of 880,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $45.31.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Thursday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.006 per share. This represents a $0.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 31st. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.27%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $43.00 to $40.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $47.00 price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 4th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Up 5.5 %

The stock has a market cap of $2.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of -0.08. The company’s 50-day moving average is $47.14 and its 200-day moving average is $47.20.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 3rd. The basic materials company reported $0.02 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.33 by ($0.31). Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 41.72% and a net margin of 21.50%. The business had revenue of $459.34 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $479.52 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.57 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 30.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 2.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC acquired a new position in Cal-Maine Foods in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 52.5% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 645 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Gladius Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 184.1% during the first quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,054 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.70% 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.