Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) Shares Gap Down Following Weak Earnings

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM)’s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $87.25, but opened at $81.38. Cal-Maine Foods shares last traded at $83.0750, with a volume of 420,325 shares trading hands.

The basic materials company reported ($0.76) EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.08 by ($0.84). The company had revenue of $552.58 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $563.83 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a return on equity of 11.79% and a net margin of 10.88%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 49.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $7.04 EPS.

Key Stories Impacting Cal-Maine Foods

Here are the key news stories impacting Cal-Maine Foods this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets raised its price target on Cal-Maine Foods from $75 to $83, but kept a market perform rating, suggesting the firm sees some valuation support even though it still implies downside from the current share price. Benzinga article
• Neutral Sentiment: Cal-Maine Foods was the target of unusually large options trading, indicating heightened investor attention after earnings, but not necessarily a clear directional catalyst. American Banking News article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and commentary around the results focused on whether CALM is fairly valued after the earnings report and on management’s discussion of revenue declines and diversification efforts. Yahoo Finance article
• Negative Sentiment: Media coverage emphasized the surprise Q4 loss, low egg prices, and a significant drop in sales and margins, reinforcing the core reason for the stock’s weakness. Motley Fool article

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CALM has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens decreased their target price on Cal-Maine Foods from $90.00 to $85.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company set a $100.00 price target on Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Cal-Maine Foods from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a report on Tuesday, May 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Cal-Maine Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cal-Maine Foods

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CALM. Pinnacle Holdings LLC bought a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. WealthCollab LLC grew its stake in Cal-Maine Foods by 105.2% during the 4th quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 431 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 221 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 58.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 378 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 46.5% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 488 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 155 shares during the period. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI acquired a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods in the third quarter worth $42,000. 84.67% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cal-Maine Foods Stock Up 0.3%

The company has a market capitalization of $4.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.46 and a beta of 0.25. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $80.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.42.

Cal-Maine Foods Company Profile

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.