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

Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) was the target of a large increase in short interest during 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. Approximately 8.1% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 601,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 5.5 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CALM has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Cal-Maine Foods from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Stephens started coverage on Cal-Maine Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $82.00 price objective for the company.

Cal-Maine Foods Trading Up 0.9 %

NASDAQ:CALM traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $102.92. The stock had a trading volume of 356,709 shares, compared to its average volume of 596,709. Cal-Maine Foods has a 52 week low of $53.02 and a 52 week high of $114.06. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.79 and a beta of -0.10. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $80.43.

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

Institutional Trading of Cal-Maine Foods

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hantz Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Cal-Maine Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 57.0% during the 3rd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 427 shares of the basic materials company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Krane Funds Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cal-Maine Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Cal-Maine Foods by 1,975.0% in the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 581 shares of the basic materials company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 553 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.67% of the company’s stock.

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.