Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) has earned an average rating of “Hold” from the five analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $101.40.

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Monday. Benchmark started coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Monday, December 1st. They set a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Cal-Maine Foods from $105.00 to $97.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on Cal-Maine Foods from $110.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Finally, Lake Street Capital set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Friday, October 3rd.

Insider Activity at Cal-Maine Foods

In other news, insider Keira L. Lombardo purchased 2,800 shares of Cal-Maine Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 2nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $92.36 per share, for a total transaction of $258,608.00. Following the acquisition, the insider directly owned 3,738 shares in the company, valued at $345,241.68. This represents a 298.51% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 3.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cal-Maine Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Archford Capital Strategies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 167.2% in the 2nd quarter. Archford Capital Strategies LLC now owns 73,225 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $7,295,000 after buying an additional 45,823 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC grew its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 1,085.8% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 259,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $24,414,000 after purchasing an additional 237,566 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,154,000. Creative Planning raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 49.1% in the 2nd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 19,161 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,909,000 after purchasing an additional 6,313 shares during the period. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 16.1% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 156,322 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $14,210,000 after purchasing an additional 21,630 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of CALM opened at $82.84 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a PE ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.24. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $86.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $97.92. Cal-Maine Foods has a 52-week low of $79.55 and a 52-week high of $126.40.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.12 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.55 by ($0.43). The company had revenue of $922.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.62 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 52.31% and a net margin of 28.86%.The firm’s revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.06 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cal-Maine Foods will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were given a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, October 29th. Cal-Maine Foods’s payout ratio is presently 21.18%.

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. It sells its products to various customers, including national and regional grocery store chains, club stores, independent supermarkets, foodservice distributors, and egg product consumers primarily in the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.