Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to Hold

Key Points

• Cal-Maine Foods has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a cautious outlook from analysts.
• Several investment firms have set price objectives for Cal-Maine Foods, with Goldman Sachs at $110.00 and BMO Capital Markets raising theirs to $105.00.
• Cal-Maine recently reported earnings per share of $7.04, significantly exceeding analyst expectations of $5.29, and has seen a 72.1% increase in year-over-year revenue.

Wall Street Zen cut shares of Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Cal-Maine Foods from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens boosted their price target on Cal-Maine Foods from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.00.

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Down 1.6%

NASDAQ:CALM traded down $1.83 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $114.98. 92,439 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 953,471. The business's 50-day moving average price is $106.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $97.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.62 and a beta of 0.19. Cal-Maine Foods has a 1 year low of $68.22 and a 1 year high of $126.40.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $7.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.29 by $1.75. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 54.81% and a net margin of 28.63%.The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $877.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.32 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 72.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Cal-Maine Foods will post 15.59 EPS for the current year.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $3.46 dividend. This represents a $13.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.0%. This is a positive change from Cal-Maine Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $1.49. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. Cal-Maine Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.76%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 3.2% in the second quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 3,280 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares during the period. Two Sigma Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 3,894 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $401,000 after acquiring an additional 106 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 12.8% in the second quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,022 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 3.5% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 3,541 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $353,000 after acquiring an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Evergreen Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 2.5% in the first quarter. Evergreen Capital Management LLC now owns 5,898 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 84.67% of the company's stock.

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.