Trexquant Investment LP Increases Stake in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP increased its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 169.6% in the first quarter, owning approximately 0.31% of the company worth nearly $13.9 million at the end of the period.
• Cal-Maine Foods recently declared a quarterly dividend of $3.46, significantly up from the previous $1.49, resulting in an annualized yield of 12.0%.
• Analysts have adjusted price targets for Cal-Maine Foods, with BMO Capital Markets increasing its target to $105.00, while Goldman Sachs set a target at $110.00.

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM - Free Report) by 169.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 152,939 shares of the basic materials company's stock after buying an additional 96,208 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned 0.31% of Cal-Maine Foods worth $13,902,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,945,681 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $449,562,000 after buying an additional 40,075 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 13.4% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,436,943 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $130,618,000 after buying an additional 170,322 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 23.5% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 833,054 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $75,725,000 after buying an additional 158,719 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 3.1% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 664,304 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $60,385,000 after buying an additional 20,174 shares during the period. Finally, Man Group plc increased its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 258.7% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 582,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $59,973,000 after buying an additional 420,247 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.67% of the company's stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

CALM traded up $0.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.64. 544,363 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 719,576. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $68.22 and a 12-month high of $126.40. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $97.82. The company has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.63 and a beta of 0.27.

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 net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 54.81%. The business had revenue of $1.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $877.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.32 EPS. The company's revenue was up 72.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CALM has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of 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 started coverage on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 price target on the stock. Stephens increased their target price on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.00.

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.