Short Interest in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) Increases By 11.4%

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,050,000 shares, an increase of 11.4% from the August 31st total of 1,840,000 shares. Approximately 5.1% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 497,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 4.1 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cal-Maine Foods

In other news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.20, for a total transaction of $210,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,310 shares in the company, valued at $372,762. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.20, for a total value of $210,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $372,762. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director James E. Poole sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.65, for a total value of $105,975.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $718,510.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock worth $422,970. 13.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CALM. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods in the second quarter worth $25,000. Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 1,975.0% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC grew its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 32,400.0% in the fourth quarter. TFO Wealth Partners LLC now owns 650 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 648 shares during the period. CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 120.1% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 625 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 341 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 73.8% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 676 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

CALM traded up $1.40 during trading on Friday, reaching $74.65. 455,381 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 600,863. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $70.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $63.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.66 billion, a PE ratio of 13.24 and a beta of -0.10. Cal-Maine Foods has a fifty-two week low of $42.25 and a fifty-two week high of $75.64.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The basic materials company reported $2.32 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by ($0.09). Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 11.94% and a return on equity of 16.46%. The company had revenue of $640.80 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $652.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $2.27 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year.

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.77 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.13%. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 54.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th.

Cal-Maine Foods Company Profile

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.