Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on CALM. Stephens started coverage on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $82.00 price objective on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Cal-Maine Foods Price Performance

Shares of CALM stock opened at $87.11 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $79.52 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $68.49. Cal-Maine Foods has a one year low of $45.07 and a one year high of $95.06. The stock has a market cap of $4.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.98 and a beta of -0.10.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.30). Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 16.09% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The business had revenue of $785.87 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $704.65 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.02 EPS. Cal-Maine Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 71.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $106,395.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 16,754 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,188,361.22. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 13.45% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,795,570 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $282,219,000 after acquiring an additional 23,915 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $159,863,000 after purchasing an additional 114,995 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 5.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,115,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,286,000 after purchasing an additional 110,900 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 8.9% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,013,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $61,948,000 after buying an additional 82,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 2.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 481,313 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,413,000 after acquiring an additional 10,287 shares during the period. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.