Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Sets New 12-Month High After Dividend Announcement

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) shares hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a dividend announcement from the company. The company traded as high as $68.58 and last traded at $67.89, with a volume of 226755 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $64.83.

The newly announced dividend which will be paid on Tuesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Monday, August 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.77 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 5th. This represents a $3.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.35%. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 70.74%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on CALM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Cal-Maine Foods from $47.00 to $52.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $65.00 price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $3.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.60 and a beta of -0.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $61.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.98.

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

Institutional Trading of Cal-Maine Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 153.5% in the fourth quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 33,654 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,931,000 after acquiring an additional 20,379 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 73.2% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 201,618 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $11,571,000 after purchasing an additional 85,201 shares in the last quarter. Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $110,000. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 460.3% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,087 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 893 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $218,000. 84.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.