Vanguard Group Inc. Reduces Stake in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM

Vanguard Group Inc. lessened its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) by 2.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,009,127 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after selling 137,330 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.10% of Cal-Maine Foods worth $471,359,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,063,000. Squarepoint Ops LLC increased its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 60.1% during the second quarter. Squarepoint Ops LLC now owns 934,037 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $93,058,000 after buying an additional 350,771 shares during the last quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC raised its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 1,085.8% in the third quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC now owns 259,445 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $24,414,000 after acquiring an additional 237,566 shares during the period. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 165.6% during the 2nd quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 291,434 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $29,036,000 after acquiring an additional 181,715 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 66.9% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 435,376 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $43,377,000 after acquiring an additional 174,576 shares during the period. 84.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

NASDAQ CALM opened at $84.43 on Thursday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $81.20 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.07. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a one year low of $71.92 and a one year high of $126.40. The company has a market capitalization of $4.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, January 28th. Cal-Maine Foods’s payout ratio is presently 12.21%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on CALM shares. BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Cal-Maine Foods from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Stephens set a $85.00 price objective on Cal-Maine Foods and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cal-Maine Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $93.00.

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.