Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) Given Average Rating of “Hold” by Brokerages

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the five analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and one has assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $93.00.

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Cal-Maine Foods from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered Cal-Maine Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Stephens set a $85.00 target price on Cal-Maine Foods and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Monday, January 5th.

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:CALM opened at $83.81 on Friday. Cal-Maine Foods has a 52 week low of $71.92 and a 52 week high of $126.40. The company’s 50 day moving average is $81.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $91.61. The company has a market cap of $3.99 billion, a PE ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.26.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The basic materials company reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $769.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $828.46 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 44.55% and a net margin of 27.37%.Cal-Maine Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.47 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cal-Maine Foods will post 15.59 EPS for the current year.

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th were given a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.21%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 195.1% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 239 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Pinnacle Holdings LLC purchased a new position in Cal-Maine Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. WealthCollab LLC grew its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new position in Cal-Maine Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $42,000. 84.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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. It sells its products to various customers, including national and regional grocery store chains, club stores, independent supermarkets, foodservice distributors, and egg product consumers primarily in the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.