Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday.

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

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:CALM opened at $104.73 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of -0.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $82.22. Cal-Maine Foods has a 1-year low of $53.38 and a 1-year high of $114.06.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The basic materials company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $954.70 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $751.50 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 16.09%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 82.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Cal-Maine Foods will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be issued a $1.489 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, January 29th. This is a boost from Cal-Maine Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. This represents a $5.96 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.69%. Cal-Maine Foods’s payout ratio is currently 46.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Cal-Maine Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $1,578,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 24.3% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $141,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 88.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 340,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,457,000 after buying an additional 159,787 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 91.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 62,979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,713,000 after buying an additional 30,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 418.6% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,566,000 after buying an additional 38,465 shares in the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is 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.