Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Lifted to Buy at StockNews.com

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

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Stephens began coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Thursday. They set an equal weight rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a sell rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Up 6.2 %

CALM stock opened at $84.57 on Thursday. Cal-Maine Foods has a twelve month low of $43.50 and a twelve month high of $84.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.99 and a beta of -0.10. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.42.

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

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, October 30th will be paid a dividend of $1.02 per share. This represents a $4.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.82%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 30th. This is an increase from Cal-Maine Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.77. Cal-Maine Foods’s payout ratio is currently 54.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.20, for a total transaction of $210,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 5,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,762. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 5,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,762. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director James E. Poole sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 10,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,510.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $422,970 over the last quarter. 13.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Garner Asset Management Corp boosted its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 0.9% in the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 20,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 3.9% in the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC increased its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 4.7% during the 2nd quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $339,000 after buying an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 73.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 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.