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 trading hands.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CALM. Range Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,578,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 24.3% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 88.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 340,155 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,457,000 after buying an additional 159,787 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 91.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 62,979 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $4,713,000 after buying an additional 30,122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 418.6% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 47,653 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $3,566,000 after buying an additional 38,465 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

Cal-Maine Foods Price Performance

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

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.