Cal-Maine Foods Inc (CALM) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods Inc (NASDAQ:CALM) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the six analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation and four have given a hold recommendation to the company.

A number of research firms recently commented on CALM. Vertical Group downgraded shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 6th. ValuEngine downgraded shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 7th. BidaskClub downgraded shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 13th. Finally, TheStreet downgraded shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a “b-” rating to a “c+” rating in a report on Friday, December 28th.

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A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Piedmont Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Piedmont Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 7,213 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $305,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD lifted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Mondrian Investment Partners LTD now owns 76,544 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $3,238,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 10,118 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 50,384 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 67.3% in the fourth quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 994 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. 64.06% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Shares of NASDAQ:CALM opened at $44.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.19 billion, a PE ratio of 12.84 and a beta of 0.32. Cal-Maine Foods has a fifty-two week low of $40.63 and a fifty-two week high of $52.30.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 4th. The basic materials company reported $0.49 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $356.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $362.73 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 17.78% and a net margin of 12.84%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.55 EPS.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 14th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 30th were issued a dividend of $0.149 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, January 29th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.34%. This is an increase from Cal-Maine Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. Cal-Maine Foods’s payout ratio is currently 21.13%.

Cal-Maine Foods Company Profile

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc produces, grades, packages, markets, and distributes shell eggs. The company offers specialty shell eggs, such as nutritionally enhanced, cage free, organic, and brown eggs under the Egg-Land's Best, Land O' Lakes, Farmhouse, and 4-Grain brand names, as well as under private labels.

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