Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (CALM) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $1.49 on February 13th

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, November 27th,Wall Street Journal reports. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be paid a dividend of 1.489 per share by the basic materials company on Thursday, February 13th. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.58%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. This is a positive change from Cal-Maine Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02.

Cal-Maine Foods has increased its dividend payment by an average of 340.3% per year over the last three years. Cal-Maine Foods has a dividend payout ratio of 181.7% indicating that the company cannot currently cover its dividend with earnings alone and is relying on its balance sheet to cover its dividend payments. Equities research analysts expect Cal-Maine Foods to earn $3.49 per share next year, which means the company may not be able to cover its $5.96 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 170.8%.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CALM opened at $106.70 on Monday. Cal-Maine Foods has a 1 year low of $54.53 and a 1 year high of $116.41. The firm has a market cap of $5.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.30 and a beta of -0.11. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $103.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $86.27.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 7th. The basic materials company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.42. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 33.69% and a net margin of 20.39%. The firm had revenue of $954.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $751.50 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 82.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Cal-Maine Foods will post 8.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cal-Maine Foods

In related news, Director Letitia Callender Hughes sold 809 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.97, for a total value of $88,965.73. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,761 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,702,427.17. This represents a 1.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 13.45% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on CALM shares. Stephens began coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $82.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th.

Cal-Maine Foods Company Profile

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.