Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Strong-Buy Rating

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report released on Saturday.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on CALM. BMO Capital Markets raised Cal-Maine Foods to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $97.00 price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NASDAQ:CALM traded down $1.17 during trading on Friday, hitting $102.00. 433,063 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 758,711. Cal-Maine Foods has a one year low of $62.35 and a one year high of $116.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 0.17. The business's fifty day moving average is $96.99 and its 200-day moving average is $97.69.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The basic materials company reported $10.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.79 by $4.59. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 48.72% and a net margin of 26.08%. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $953.76 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $3.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 101.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Cal-Maine Foods will post 15.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Cal-Maine Foods

In other Cal-Maine Foods news, insider Adolphus B. Baker sold 1,287,616 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.60, for a total transaction of $116,658,009.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 1,702,853 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $154,278,481.80. This trade represents a 43.06% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 13.45% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CALM. Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 258.7% during the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 582,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,973,000 after acquiring an additional 420,247 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 515.1% during the 4th quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 477,477 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $49,142,000 after acquiring an additional 399,848 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $35,322,000. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 336.5% during the 1st quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. now owns 487,214 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $44,288,000 after acquiring an additional 375,604 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 60.2% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 674,335 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $69,403,000 after acquiring an additional 253,310 shares during the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.