Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Decreases Position in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM

Key Points

• Wedge Capital trimmed its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 92.3% in Q4, selling 239,522 shares and leaving 19,923 shares valued at $1.585 million.
• In its most recent quarter Cal-Maine reported EPS of $2.13 (missed by $0.04) and revenue down 19.4% year-over-year to $769.5 million, while maintaining a strong net margin (27.37%) and ROE (44.55%).
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $93; the stock trades at a low P/E of 3.32, a market cap of $3.75 billion, and yields about 3.7% from its dividend.

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC trimmed its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM - Free Report) by 92.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,923 shares of the basic materials company's stock after selling 239,522 shares during the quarter. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC's holdings in Cal-Maine Foods were worth $1,585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in CALM. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 4.5% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 24,401 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $2,218,000 after buying an additional 1,057 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 100.8% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 7,985 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $726,000 after buying an additional 4,009 shares during the last quarter. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods during the 1st quarter worth $245,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 10.0% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 85,422 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $7,765,000 after acquiring an additional 7,736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 3.4% in the second quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 313,197 shares of the basic materials company's stock valued at $31,204,000 after acquiring an additional 10,203 shares during the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on CALM. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Friday. Stephens upped their target price on Cal-Maine Foods from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Cal-Maine Foods from $85.00 to $80.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cal-Maine Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $93.00.

Cal-Maine Foods Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CALM opened at $78.66 on Tuesday. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.92 and a 1-year high of $126.40. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $83.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.40.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The basic materials company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.17 by ($0.04). Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 27.37% and a return on equity of 44.55%. The business had revenue of $769.50 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $828.46 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.47 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 15.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, February 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, January 28th were paid a $0.72 dividend. This represents a $2.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, January 28th. Cal-Maine Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.21%.

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. It sells its products to various customers, including national and regional grocery store chains, club stores, independent supermarkets, foodservice distributors, and egg product consumers primarily in the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.

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