Stephens Reiterates “Equal Weight” Rating for Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM)

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM)‘s stock had its “equal weight” rating reiterated by analysts at Stephens in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $97.00 price objective on the basic materials company’s stock. Stephens’ price target indicates a potential upside of 7.31% from the company’s previous close.

Separately, StockNews.com raised Cal-Maine Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of CALM stock opened at $90.39 on Thursday. Cal-Maine Foods has a 12 month low of $54.88 and a 12 month high of $116.41. The company has a market cap of $4.43 billion, a PE ratio of 7.03 and a beta of -0.12. The business’s 50 day moving average is $103.88 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.81.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The basic materials company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $954.70 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $751.50 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 20.39% and a return on equity of 33.69%. Cal-Maine Foods’s revenue was up 82.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Cal-Maine Foods will post 15.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Cal-Maine Foods

In other news, Director Letitia Callender Hughes sold 809 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $109.97, for a total transaction of $88,965.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,702,427.17. This represents a 1.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 13.45% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Quarry LP lifted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 32.5% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 770 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 339.1% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $105,000 after buying an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $134,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.