Everstar Asset Management LLC Buys New Stake in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM

Key Points

• Everstar Asset Management LLC has made a new investment in Cal-Maine Foods, acquiring 7,494 shares valued at approximately $681,000.
• Cal-Maine Foods reported strong quarterly earnings, with an EPS of $7.04, significantly surpassing analysts' expectations of $5.29, and a revenue increase of 72.1% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a substantial increase in its quarterly dividend to $3.46 per share, representing an annualized dividend of $13.84 and a yield of 12.2%.

Everstar Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 7,494 shares of the basic materials company's stock, valued at approximately $681,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the first quarter valued at about $527,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 8.7% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 562,810 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $51,159,000 after buying an additional 45,201 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 23.2% in the 1st quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,071 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $188,000 after buying an additional 390 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 25.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,720 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $156,000 after buying an additional 352 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 8.2% in the 1st quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,511 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $228,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Up 1.4%

NASDAQ CALM traded up $1.51 on Thursday, hitting $111.01. 419,772 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 941,557. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $108.51 and a 200 day moving average of $98.85. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a twelve month low of $68.81 and a twelve month high of $126.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 0.27.

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

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 4th were given a dividend of $3.46 per share. This represents a $13.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 12.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This is a positive change from Cal-Maine Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $1.49. Cal-Maine Foods's payout ratio is currently 37.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have issued reports on CALM. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Thursday, August 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Wall Street Zen cut Cal-Maine Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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. Finally, Stephens upped their price target on Cal-Maine Foods from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company 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, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price 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.