Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) Increases Dividend to $1.00 Per Share

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, April 2nd, Zacks reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 1st will be paid a dividend of 1.00 per share by the basic materials company on Thursday, May 16th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 6.37%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 30th. This is an increase from Cal-Maine Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12.

Cal-Maine Foods has a dividend payout ratio of 21.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Cal-Maine Foods to earn $2.06 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.46 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.3%.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Up 2.9 %

CALM stock traded up $1.76 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $62.80. The company's stock had a trading volume of 931,206 shares, compared to its average volume of 657,346. Cal-Maine Foods has a 12 month low of $42.25 and a 12 month high of $63.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $57.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.13 and a beta of -0.06.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 2nd. The basic materials company reported $3.00 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.45 by $0.55. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 17.06% and a net margin of 11.61%. The firm had revenue of $703.08 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $692.35 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $6.62 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 29.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Cal-Maine Foods will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Letitia Callender Hughes sold 1,020 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.73, for a total value of $57,864.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 43,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,726.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Letitia Callender Hughes sold 1,020 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.73, for a total value of $57,864.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 43,570 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,471,726.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Charles Jeff Hardin sold 4,458 shares of Cal-Maine Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.56, for a total value of $252,144.48. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 17,830 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,008,464.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 9,228 shares of company stock worth $520,122. Corporate insiders own 13.51% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $364,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 39.1% in the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 1,095 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $61,000 after acquiring an additional 308 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP raised its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 99.6% during the first quarter. Quarry LP now owns 1,371 shares of the basic materials company's stock worth $83,000 after acquiring an additional 684 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Cal-Maine Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $109,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the first quarter valued at about $134,000. 84.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $65.00 target price on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Wednesday.

Cal-Maine Foods Company 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.