Walleye Capital LLC Raises Holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM

Key Points

• Walleye Capital LLC increased its position in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. by 29.8%, owning 17,747 shares valued at approximately $1.6 million according to recent SEC filings.
• Cal-Maine Foods recently increased its quarterly dividend to $3.46 per share from $1.49, yielding 12.0% annually and reflecting its strong financial performance with a net margin of 28.63%.
• Analysts have a consensus rating of "Hold" for Cal-Maine Foods, with target prices ranging from $105 to $115 per share, as covered by multiple research firms.

Walleye Capital LLC increased its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM - Free Report) by 29.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,747 shares of the basic materials company's stock after purchasing an additional 4,079 shares during the quarter. Walleye Capital LLC's holdings in Cal-Maine Foods were worth $1,613,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $633,000. Hartree Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the first quarter valued at approximately $909,000. Sprott Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 14.6% during the first quarter. Sprott Inc. now owns 131,800 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $11,981,000 after acquiring an additional 16,800 shares during the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 355.2% during the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 32,600 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $2,963,000 after acquiring an additional 25,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 242.6% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 109,719 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $9,973,000 after acquiring an additional 77,695 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.67% of the company's stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

Shares of CALM traded down $5.33 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.69. 500,157 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 949,495. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a 52-week low of $68.22 and a 52-week high of $126.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.27.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The basic materials company reported $7.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.29 by $1.75. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 54.81% and a net margin of 28.63%.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 business posted $2.32 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 72.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 15.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cal-Maine Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 19th. Investors of record on Monday, August 4th were paid a dividend of $3.46 per share. This represents a $13.84 annualized dividend 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 payout ratio is presently 37.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on CALM. Stephens increased their target price on Cal-Maine Foods from $108.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. 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 price target for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Cal-Maine Foods from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Cal-Maine Foods from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus 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.