Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Boosts Holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM)

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) by 255.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,884 shares of the basic materials company’s stock after acquiring an additional 14,284 shares during the quarter. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Cal-Maine Foods were worth $2,046,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Cal-Maine Foods by 339.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,032 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $105,000 after buying an additional 797 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $134,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 350.5% in the fourth quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,437 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $148,000 after purchasing an additional 1,118 shares during the period. KBC Group NV increased its stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 59.8% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,681 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $173,000 after purchasing an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Colonial River Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Cal-Maine Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $203,000. 84.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

CALM has been the subject of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Cal-Maine Foods to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $97.00 price objective on shares of Cal-Maine Foods in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Cal-Maine Foods from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday.

Insider Activity at Cal-Maine Foods

In related news, insider Adolphus B. Baker sold 140,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.60, for a total value of $12,708,099.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 1,319,034 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,504,480.40. This represents a 9.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 13.45% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ CALM opened at $95.52 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $4.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 7.43 and a beta of 0.18. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.64. Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. has a 12-month low of $57.43 and a 12-month high of $116.41.

Cal-Maine Foods (NASDAQ:CALM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 8th. The basic materials company reported $10.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.79 by $4.59. The business had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $953.76 million. Cal-Maine Foods had a net margin of 20.39% and a return on equity of 33.69%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 101.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. will post 15.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Cal-Maine Foods 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.