Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Sets New 12-Month High – Should You Buy?

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $101.66 and last traded at $101.08, with a volume of 80679 shares. The stock had previously closed at $99.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on CALM. StockNews.com cut Cal-Maine Foods from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, November 23rd. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of 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.

Cal-Maine Foods Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.99 billion, a PE ratio of 11.37 and a beta of -0.10.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.36 by ($0.30). Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 16.09% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The firm had revenue of $785.87 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $704.65 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.02 earnings per share. Cal-Maine Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 8.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Cal-Maine Foods

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CALM. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 652.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 160,300 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $11,997,000 after acquiring an additional 139,000 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 4.6% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,616,011 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $159,863,000 after purchasing an additional 114,995 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 5.5% during the second quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 2,115,624 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $129,286,000 after buying an additional 110,900 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 8.9% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,013,713 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $61,948,000 after acquiring an additional 82,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $58,810,000. Institutional investors own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

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.