StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM)

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM – Get Rating) in a report issued on Thursday morning. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the basic materials company’s stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Price Performance

CALM stock opened at $54.49 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $55.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $56.98. Cal-Maine Foods has a fifty-two week low of $43.96 and a fifty-two week high of $65.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.62, a P/E/G ratio of 0.16 and a beta of -0.05.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 28th. The basic materials company reported $4.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.30 by ($0.23). Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 18.71% and a return on equity of 40.78%. The business had revenue of $801.70 million for the quarter. On average, equities analysts expect that Cal-Maine Foods will post 16.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 9th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 25th were issued a dividend of $1.35 per share. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 9.91%. This is a boost from Cal-Maine Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.85. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, January 24th. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 55.67%.

Insider Activity at Cal-Maine Foods

In related news, Director Letitia Callender Hughes sold 1,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.70, for a total transaction of $64,546.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 42,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,337,166.90. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 13.49% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 118.8% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 466 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 253 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC boosted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 795.2% in the 3rd quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 564 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 501 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Cal-Maine Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $35,000. Strs Ohio bought a new position in Cal-Maine Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Eagle Bay Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 34.5% in the 2nd quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC now owns 733 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. 88.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Cal-Maine Foods

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Cal-Maine Foods, Inc engages in the production, grading, packing, marketing, and distribution of fresh shell eggs. The firm operates farms, processing plants, hatcheries, feed mills, warehouses, offices and other properties. It markets shell eggs to national and regional grocery store chains, club stores, foodservice distributors, and egg product manufacturers.