Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Shares Gap Up on Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $103.68, but opened at $109.78. Cal-Maine Foods shares last traded at $111.14, with a volume of 212,529 shares traded.

The basic materials company reported $4.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.05 by $0.42. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 24.25% and a net margin of 16.09%. The firm had revenue of $954.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $751.50 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 82.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on CALM. StockNews.com lowered shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens started coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Axiom Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 3.3% in the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $280,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P increased its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P now owns 39,321 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $2,943,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 57.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp raised its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 20,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after purchasing an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 15,049 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after buying an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.25 and a 200 day moving average of $81.91. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.75 and a beta of -0.11.

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.