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

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Hold” from the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and two have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $101.40.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $110.00 to $98.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. Lake Street Capital set a $97.00 price objective on Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. Benchmark began coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $100.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Monday, November 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Cal-Maine Foods from $105.00 to $97.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 3rd.

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:CALM opened at $83.33 on Monday. Cal-Maine Foods has a twelve month low of $79.55 and a twelve month high of $126.40. The company has a market cap of $4.04 billion, a PE ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.21. The company’s 50 day moving average is $90.53 and its 200 day moving average is $99.43.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 1st. The basic materials company reported $4.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $4.55 by ($0.43). The business had revenue of $922.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.62 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 28.86% and a return on equity of 52.31%. The business’s revenue was up 17.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $3.06 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 29th were issued a dividend of $1.37 per share. This represents a $5.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 6.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, October 29th. Cal-Maine Foods’s payout ratio is 21.18%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Keira L. Lombardo purchased 2,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 2nd. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $92.36 per share, with a total value of $258,608.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the insider owned 3,738 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,241.68. This represents a 298.51% increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 3.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the third quarter worth about $38,063,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $35,322,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 60.1% in the 2nd quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 934,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,058,000 after purchasing an additional 350,771 shares in the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 1,085.8% in the 3rd 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. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC raised its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 315.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 251,228 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $22,837,000 after purchasing an additional 190,715 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

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.