Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to Buy Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

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

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CALM opened at $93.97 on Friday. Cal-Maine Foods has a 52-week low of $45.07 and a 52-week high of $95.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.76 and a beta of -0.12. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $83.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $71.12.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $785.87 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $704.65 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 16.09%. Cal-Maine Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 71.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.02 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Cal-Maine Foods will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cal-Maine Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CALM. Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 825.1% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,904 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $230,000 after purchasing an additional 3,482 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 8,268 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $487,000 after buying an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 14,280 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $870,000 after acquiring an additional 3,357 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 0.5% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,795,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $282,219,000 after acquiring an additional 23,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $408,000. 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.