HighTower Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM

Key Points

• HighTower Advisors LLC sold 3,658 shares of Cal-Maine Foods, reducing its position by 32.2% in Q1, now holding 7,711 shares valued at $701,000.
• Cal-Maine Foods recently increased its quarterly dividend to $3.46, representing a significant rise from its previous dividend of $1.49, and yielding 12.0%.
• The company reported a strong earnings performance with $7.04 earnings per share, surpassing estimates, and achieved a 72.1% revenue increase year-over-year.

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM - Free Report) by 32.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,711 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 3,658 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC's holdings in Cal-Maine Foods were worth $701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of CALM. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new position in Cal-Maine Foods in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Investment Management Corp VA ADV lifted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 172.2% in the first quarter. Investment Management Corp VA ADV now owns 392 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 248 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 388.2% during the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 620 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 493 shares during the period. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the first quarter valued at about $77,000. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 126.0% during the 1st quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 920 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $84,000 after purchasing an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.67% of the company's stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Price Performance

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods stock traded up $0.45 on Tuesday, reaching $116.09. 313,724 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 949,555. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a 52 week low of $68.22 and a 52 week high of $126.40. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.92 and a 200 day moving average of $97.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a PE ratio of 4.66 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.29 by $1.75. The company had revenue of $1.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $877.03 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 28.63% and a return on equity of 54.81%. Cal-Maine Foods's revenue was up 72.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.32 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 15.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a $3.46 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 4th. This represents a $13.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 11.9%. This is a boost from Cal-Maine Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $1.49. Cal-Maine Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 37.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen lowered Cal-Maine Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 23rd. Stephens boosted their target price 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. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $110.00 target price for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Cal-Maine Foods from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $110.00.

Cal-Maine Foods 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.