Principal Financial Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. $CALM

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 268,026 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,251 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cal-Maine Foods were worth $25,221,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 195.1% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 239 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Financial Consulate Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 84.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Performance

CALM stock opened at $82.53 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $81.80 and a 200-day moving average of $93.29. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $71.92 and a fifty-two week high of $126.40. The company has a market capitalization of $3.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3.49 and a beta of 0.26.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 7th. The basic materials company reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.17 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $769.50 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $828.46 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 27.37% and a return on equity of 44.55%. Cal-Maine Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.47 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 15.59 EPS for the current year.

Cal-Maine Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, January 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.72 per share. This represents a $2.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, January 28th. Cal-Maine Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 12.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

CALM has been the topic of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Cal-Maine Foods from $97.00 to $85.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Stephens set a $85.00 price target on shares of Cal-Maine Foods and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Monday, January 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $93.00.

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. It sells its products to various customers, including national and regional grocery store chains, club stores, independent supermarkets, foodservice distributors, and egg product consumers primarily in the southwestern, southeastern, mid-western, and mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.