Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Stock Price Up 3.8%

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) shares shot up 3.8% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $78.34 and last traded at $78.25. 272,403 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 55% from the average session volume of 604,462 shares. The stock had previously closed at $75.41.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CALM. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens started coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $64.14. The stock has a market cap of $3.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.06 and a beta of -0.10.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.30). The company had revenue of $785.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $704.65 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 11.94% and a return on equity of 16.46%. Cal-Maine Foods’s revenue was up 71.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.02 EPS.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be issued a $1.02 dividend. This is a boost from Cal-Maine Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 30th. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.15%. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 54.61%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.20, for a total value of $210,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,762. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.20, for a total value of $210,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 5,310 shares in the company, valued at approximately $372,762. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total transaction of $106,395.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,188,361.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $422,970 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 13.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hantz Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the second quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 1,975.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares during the period. TFO Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 32,400.0% during the 4th quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 648 shares in the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 120.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 73.8% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is 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.