Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $103.68, but opened at $109.78. Cal-Maine Foods shares last traded at $111.14, with a volume of 212,529 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported $4.47 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.05 by $0.42. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 16.09% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The company had revenue of $954.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $751.50 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 82.5% on a year-over-year basis.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 29th will be given a $1.489 dividend. This represents a $5.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.69%. This is a positive change from Cal-Maine Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.02. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 29th. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 46.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on CALM. Stephens began coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $82.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Cal-Maine Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday.

Institutional Trading of Cal-Maine Foods

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 88.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 340,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,457,000 after purchasing an additional 159,787 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 652.6% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 160,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,997,000 after acquiring an additional 139,000 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $159,863,000 after acquiring an additional 114,995 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 5.5% in the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,115,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $129,286,000 after acquiring an additional 110,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 82,772 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Up 1.0 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $98.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $82.07. The firm has a market cap of $5.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.00 and a beta of -0.11.

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.