Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) was the recipient of a significant decline in short interest during the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a decline of 12.4% from the August 15th total of 2,100,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 529,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.5 days. Approximately 4.5% of the shares of the company are sold short.

Cal-Maine Foods Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CALM traded up $0.37 on Wednesday, reaching $71.32. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 510,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,049. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.21 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.94. Cal-Maine Foods has a 52-week low of $42.25 and a 52-week high of $73.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.81 and a beta of -0.10.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 23rd. The basic materials company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by ($0.09). Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 11.94% and a return on equity of 16.46%. The business had revenue of $640.80 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $652.32 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.27 earnings per share. Cal-Maine Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% on a year-over-year basis.

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 5th were paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.32%. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Insider Activity at Cal-Maine Foods

In related news, Director James E. Poole sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.65, for a total value of $105,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,510.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $372,762. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director James E. Poole sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.65, for a total transaction of $105,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 10,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $718,510.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $422,970 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 13.51% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 38.4% during the fourth quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 239,587 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $13,750,000 after acquiring an additional 66,435 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 65.7% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 55,362 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,258,000 after acquiring an additional 21,956 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 362.8% during the second quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 15,801 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 12,387 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 748.9% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 790,266 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $45,353,000 after acquiring an additional 697,170 shares during the period. Finally, Duality Advisers LP grew its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 95.2% during the first quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 26,792 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,577,000 after buying an additional 13,064 shares during the period. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.