RIDGELAND, Miss.—James E. Poole, a director at Cal-Maine Foods Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM), recently sold a portion of his holdings in the company. According to a regulatory filing, Poole sold 909 shares of common stock on January 14 at a price of $109.97 per share, amounting to a total transaction value of $99,962. The sale comes as Cal-Maine trades near its 52-week high of $114.06, having delivered an impressive 115.7% return over the past year, according to InvestingPro data.
The filing also disclosed that Poole acquired 982 shares of restricted stock as part of a grant that will vest on the third anniversary of the grant date. This acquisition did not involve any cash transaction, as the shares were granted at a value of $0 per share.
Following these transactions, Poole holds a total of 10,243 shares in Cal-Maine Foods. The company, based in Ridgeland, Mississippi, is a leading producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the United States.
In other recent news, Cal-Maine Foods reported robust second quarter earnings for fiscal year 2025, surpassing both Stephens' and consensus estimates. The company announced an adjusted earnings per share (EPS) of $4.48, compared to the anticipated $4.25 by Stephens and $4.05 by the consensus. Adjusted EBITDA also exceeded expectations, reaching $325.4 million against the predicted $282.4 million by Stephens and $303.7 million by consensus.
The higher-than-expected results were attributed to increased sales and reduced selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A), balanced by a lower gross margin. Cal-Maine Foods experienced a strong quarter, driven by a balanced supply and demand in the market and high seasonal egg demand.
Stephens analysts project significant earnings growth for the company, particularly in light of the ongoing impact of the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) and high egg pricing levels. The firm maintained an Equal Weight rating on the stock but raised the price target to $97 from the previous $88.
Lastly, as part of recent developments, Cal-Maine plans to invest approximately $60 million in new capital projects to expand cage-free egg production capacity, expected to add capacity for about 1.1 million cage-free layer hens by late summer 2025.
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