Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) Short Interest Update

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) saw a large decline in short interest in August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,840,000 shares, a decline of 12.4% from the August 15th total of 2,100,000 shares. Currently, 4.5% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 529,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.5 days.

Insider Transactions at Cal-Maine Foods

In other Cal-Maine Foods news, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of Cal-Maine Foods stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $106,395.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 16,754 shares in the company, valued at $1,188,361.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, COO Michael Todd Walters sold 3,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.20, for a total transaction of $210,600.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 5,310 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,762. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Robert L. Holladay, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.93, for a total value of $106,395.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 16,754 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,188,361.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 6,000 shares of company stock valued at $422,970. Corporate insiders own 13.51% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of CALM. Garner Asset Management Corp lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 0.9% during the second quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 20,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Regal Investment Advisors LLC now owns 5,404 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $330,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,765 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $719,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 4.7% in the second quarter. AlphaMark Advisors LLC now owns 5,554 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $339,000 after acquiring an additional 249 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 37.6% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 941 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 257 shares during the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods stock traded up $0.84 on Tuesday, reaching $70.95. 484,822 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 596,440. The company has a market capitalization of $3.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.61 and a beta of -0.10. Cal-Maine Foods has a 52 week low of $42.25 and a 52 week high of $72.70. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $69.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $62.83.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 23rd. The basic materials company reported $2.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.41 by ($0.09). The business had revenue of $640.80 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $652.32 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 11.94% and a return on equity of 16.46%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.27 earnings per share.

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th were given a $0.77 dividend. This represents a $3.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 5th. Cal-Maine Foods’s payout ratio is currently 54.61%.

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.