Acadian Asset Management LLC Has $44.85 Million Position in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM

Key Points

• Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 22.2%, now holding about 493,609 shares valued at $44.84 million.
• Cal-Maine Foods reported a 72.1% year-over-year increase in revenue, with earnings per share of $7.04 surpassing analyst estimates of $5.29.
• The company recently boosted its quarterly dividend from $1.49 to $3.46, representing a 12.6% yield for shareholders.

Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM - Free Report) by 22.2% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 493,609 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 89,823 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC owned about 1.01% of Cal-Maine Foods worth $44,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in CALM. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 16,509 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $1,699,000 after acquiring an additional 1,813 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG raised its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 126,071 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $12,975,000 after buying an additional 11,882 shares in the last quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 255.1% in the fourth quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc. now owns 19,884 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,046,000 after buying an additional 14,284 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 191.4% in the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 167,736 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $17,264,000 after buying an additional 110,170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 106,721 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $10,983,000 after buying an additional 8,810 shares in the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Cal-Maine Foods from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Thursday, August 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 target price on the stock. Stephens lifted their price objective on Cal-Maine Foods from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $110.00.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods stock traded down $0.37 on Friday, reaching $110.64. The company had a trading volume of 411,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 652,496. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a PE ratio of 4.43 and a beta of 0.27. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.81 and a 52-week high of $126.40. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $108.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.23.

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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.29 by $1.75. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 54.81%. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $877.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 72.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 15.59 EPS for the current year.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were issued a $3.46 dividend. This represents a $13.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 12.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Cal-Maine Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $1.49. Cal-Maine Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.72%.

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.