Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $87.25, but opened at $81.38. Cal-Maine Foods shares last traded at $83.0750, with a volume of 420,325 shares changing hands.

The basic materials company reported ($0.76) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $552.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.83 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 20.07% and a return on equity of 26.05%. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.04 earnings per share.

Analyst Ratings Changes

CALM has been the topic of several analyst reports. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $100.00 price target on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Monday, July 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, Stephens lowered their price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Cal-Maine Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.29.

Institutional Trading of Cal-Maine Foods

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC bought a new position in Cal-Maine Foods in the fourth quarter worth $6,244,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 36.6% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 118,773 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $9,451,000 after acquiring an additional 31,826 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 405,459 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,262,000 after acquiring an additional 59,659 shares in the last quarter. Directional Asset Management purchased a new position in Cal-Maine Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,094,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 46.0% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 38,853 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,092,000 after acquiring an additional 12,248 shares in the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Down 2.1%

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $79.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.30. The firm has a market cap of $4.05 billion, a PE ratio of 5.99 and a beta of 0.25.

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.