Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Strong Sell"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Cal-Maine Foods to “strong sell” from “sell,” while other analysts also became more cautious. The broader consensus remains “Hold,” with an average price target of $88.86.
• Cal-Maine shares opened at $67.43, down 1.5%, near their 52-week low of $66.62 and well below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages of roughly $80.
• The company reported a quarterly loss of $0.76 per share, missing the $0.08 consensus estimate, while revenue fell 49.9% year over year to $552.58 million.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "sell" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a research note issued to investors on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Weiss Ratings downgraded Cal-Maine Foods from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $75.00 price objective (down from $83.00) on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Thursday. Benchmark downgraded Cal-Maine Foods from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, September 4th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $100.00 target price on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Friday, September 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $88.86.

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Down 1.5%

CALM opened at $67.43 on Friday. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $80.62 and its 200 day simple moving average is $79.80. Cal-Maine Foods has a 1-year low of $66.62 and a 1-year high of $101.86. The stock has a market cap of $3.16 billion, a PE ratio of 10.29 and a beta of 0.23.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.08 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $552.58 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $563.83 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 10.88% and a return on equity of 11.79%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 49.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $7.04 EPS.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 505,359 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $39,999,000 after acquiring an additional 90,779 shares during the last quarter. Hound Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 163.6% during the first quarter. Hound Partners LLC now owns 203,851 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $16,135,000 after acquiring an additional 126,510 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 41.2% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 53,608 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,298,000 after purchasing an additional 15,643 shares during the last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 60.3% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 59,116 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $4,680,000 after purchasing an additional 22,233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 11,570.6% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 46,799 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $3,704,000 after purchasing an additional 46,398 shares during the period. 84.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Cal-Maine Foods

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc is a leading producer and distributor of shell eggs in the United States. The company manages a vertically integrated business that includes egg production, processing, packaging, marketing and distribution. Its products are sold to retail grocery chains, foodservice customers, food processors and institutional buyers.

Cal-Maine offers conventional shell eggs as well as specialty products, including cage-free, organic, brown, free-range and nutritionally enhanced eggs.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.