Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) Short Interest Up 11.1% in December

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,300,000 shares, an increase of 11.1% from the November 30th total of 2,970,000 shares. Currently, 8.1% of the company’s shares are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 601,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Cal-Maine Foods Price Performance

Cal-Maine Foods stock traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.92. 356,709 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 596,709. Cal-Maine Foods has a fifty-two week low of $53.02 and a fifty-two week high of $114.06. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $97.02 and its 200-day moving average price is $80.43. The company has a market cap of $5.05 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79 and a beta of -0.10.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 1st. The basic materials company reported $3.06 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.36 by ($0.30). The firm had revenue of $785.87 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $704.65 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 16.09% and a return on equity of 24.25%. Cal-Maine Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up 71.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.02 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Cal-Maine Foods will post 8.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CALM. Axiom Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 3.3% during the third quarter. Axiom Advisory LLC now owns 4,061 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the last quarter. Martingale Asset Management L P lifted its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods by 0.4% during 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 buying an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp grew its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Garner Asset Management Corp now owns 20,252 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on CALM. Stephens initiated 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Cal-Maine Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday.

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.