Latest news with #Cal-MaineFoods
Yahoo
02-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cal-Maine Foods Closes Acquisition of Echo Lake Foods
RIDGELAND, Miss., June 02, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) ("Cal-Maine Foods" or the "Company"), today announced the closing of its acquisition of Echo Lake Foods. The Company announced in April that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Echo Lake Foods in an all-cash transaction for approximately $258 million, which is expected to provide a tax benefit of ~$28 million equating to an effective purchase price of ~$230 million. Echo Lake Foods produces, packages, markets and distributes ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods, including waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, frozen cooked omelets, egg patties, toast and diced eggs. Echo Lake Foods had annual revenues of approximately $240 million in 2024 with a five-year CAGR of approximately 10%. Highlights of the Transaction: Compelling Strategic Rationale Allows Cal-Maine Foods to enter the large, growing and highly stable value-added food portion of the egg category Expands strategic customer relationships with retail, quick service restaurant and other food service customers Leverages Cal-Maine Foods' extensive sales and supply chain distribution capabilities Attractive Financial Returns Provides access to additional long-term growth opportunities while reducing earnings volatility Estimated potential $15 million annual synergy opportunity driven by egg purchasing efficiencies and SG&A savings Expected mid-single digit percentage accretion to EPS (including synergies) in FY2026. Sherman Miller, president and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, stated, "The addition of Echo Lake Foods advances our stated strategy to expand and diversify our product portfolio and customer mix. Echo Lake Foods is a leading innovator with a long history of providing quality ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods to a blue-chip customer base. The combined product lines and capabilities of the two companies are highly complementary and, importantly, we share similar values of pursuing operating excellence and meeting the needs of our customers. "The acquisition of Echo Lake Foods meets our disciplined set of investment criteria, including relevant geographic markets, operating synergies, product mix, proximity to customers and expected financial returns. The Echo Lake Foods team has built a terrific business and we look forward to working together on a successful integration, delivering on a unique opportunity for our customers and shareholders, and welcoming Kathy Brodhagen to our leadership team and Echo Lake employees to the Cal-Maine Foods family," added Miller. Goldman Sachs & Co LLC is serving as Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.'s exclusive financial advisor while Sidley Austin LLP is serving as its lead legal advisor. About Cal-Maine Foods Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is primarily engaged in the production, packaging, marketing and distribution of fresh shell eggs, including conventional, cage-free, organic, brown, free-range, pasture-raised and nutritionally enhanced eggs, as well as a variety of ready-to-eat egg products. The Company, which is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi, is the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the nation and sells most of its shell eggs throughout the majority of the United States. Forward Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are based on management's current intent, belief, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our Company and our industry. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and may be beyond our control. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements include the following, among others: The announcement and completion of our recent Echo Lake Foods acquisition could affect the relationships of the Company (including Echo Lake Foods), with its customers, suppliers, operating results and business generally, including the ability of the Company to retain employees, including in its Echo Lake Foods unit. Also, the Company may experience unexpected challenges in integrating and managing the business of Echo Lake Foods. As a result, integrating Echo Lake Foods' business may be more costly or time consuming than expected. Even if the business of Echo Lake Foods is successfully integrated, the Company may not realize the benefits it expects from the acquisition, including the synergies, cost savings, earnings accretion, reduction in earnings volatility, return of equity, margin expansion, financial returns, tax benefits, expanded customer relationships, or sales or growth opportunities. SEC filings may be obtained from the SEC or the Company's website, Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Further, the forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the respective dates thereof, or if no date is stated, as of the date hereof. Except as otherwise required by law, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise. View source version on Contacts Sherman Miller, President and CEOMax P. Bowman, Vice President and CFO(601) 948-6813 Error while retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data Error while retrieving data
Business Wire
02-06-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Cal-Maine Foods Closes Acquisition of Echo Lake Foods
RIDGELAND, Miss.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ: CALM) ('Cal-Maine Foods' or the 'Company'), today announced the closing of its acquisition of Echo Lake Foods. The Company announced in April that it signed a definitive agreement to acquire Echo Lake Foods in an all-cash transaction for approximately $258 million, which is expected to provide a tax benefit of ~$28 million equating to an effective purchase price of ~$230 million. Echo Lake Foods produces, packages, markets and distributes ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods, including waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, frozen cooked omelets, egg patties, toast and diced eggs. Echo Lake Foods had annual revenues of approximately $240 million in 2024 with a five-year CAGR of approximately 10%. Highlights of the Transaction: Compelling Strategic Rationale Allows Cal-Maine Foods to enter the large, growing and highly stable value-added food portion of the egg category Expands strategic customer relationships with retail, quick service restaurant and other food service customers Leverages Cal-Maine Foods' extensive sales and supply chain distribution capabilities Attractive Financial Returns Provides access to additional long-term growth opportunities while reducing earnings volatility Estimated potential $15 million annual synergy opportunity driven by egg purchasing efficiencies and SG&A savings Expected mid-single digit percentage accretion to EPS (including synergies) in FY2026. Sherman Miller, president and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, stated, 'The addition of Echo Lake Foods advances our stated strategy to expand and diversify our product portfolio and customer mix. Echo Lake Foods is a leading innovator with a long history of providing quality ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods to a blue-chip customer base. The combined product lines and capabilities of the two companies are highly complementary and, importantly, we share similar values of pursuing operating excellence and meeting the needs of our customers. 'The acquisition of Echo Lake Foods meets our disciplined set of investment criteria, including relevant geographic markets, operating synergies, product mix, proximity to customers and expected financial returns. The Echo Lake Foods team has built a terrific business and we look forward to working together on a successful integration, delivering on a unique opportunity for our customers and shareholders, and welcoming Kathy Brodhagen to our leadership team and Echo Lake employees to the Cal-Maine Foods family,' added Miller. Goldman Sachs & Co LLC is serving as Cal-Maine Foods, Inc.'s exclusive financial advisor while Sidley Austin LLP is serving as its lead legal advisor. About Cal-Maine Foods Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. is primarily engaged in the production, packaging, marketing and distribution of fresh shell eggs, including conventional, cage-free, organic, brown, free-range, pasture-raised and nutritionally enhanced eggs, as well as a variety of ready-to-eat egg products. The Company, which is headquartered in Ridgeland, Mississippi, is the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the nation and sells most of its shell eggs throughout the majority of the United States. Forward Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements as that term is defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The forward-looking statements are based on management's current intent, belief, expectations, estimates and projections regarding our Company and our industry. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks, uncertainties, assumptions and other factors that are difficult to predict and may be beyond our control. The factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements include the following, among others: The announcement and completion of our recent Echo Lake Foods acquisition could affect the relationships of the Company (including Echo Lake Foods), with its customers, suppliers, operating results and business generally, including the ability of the Company to retain employees, including in its Echo Lake Foods unit. Also, the Company may experience unexpected challenges in integrating and managing the business of Echo Lake Foods. As a result, integrating Echo Lake Foods' business may be more costly or time consuming than expected. Even if the business of Echo Lake Foods is successfully integrated, the Company may not realize the benefits it expects from the acquisition, including the synergies, cost savings, earnings accretion, reduction in earnings volatility, return of equity, margin expansion, financial returns, tax benefits, expanded customer relationships, or sales or growth opportunities. SEC filings may be obtained from the SEC or the Company's website, Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements because, while we believe the assumptions on which the forward-looking statements are based are reasonable, there can be no assurance that these forward-looking statements will prove to be accurate. Further, the forward-looking statements included herein are made only as of the respective dates thereof, or if no date is stated, as of the date hereof. Except as otherwise required by law, the Company disclaims any intent or obligation to publicly update these forward-looking statements, whether because of new information, future events, or otherwise.
Yahoo
15-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
The Staggering Difference Between Grocery Prices Now Vs The 1950s
Rising prices for groceries -- and pretty much everything -- seem to be a fact of life. We've all heard our grandparents complain about how ice cream used to cost a nickel in their day, compared to now, where a single scoop on a cone might set you back several dollars at least. This phenomenon is typically due to inflation, an economic trend where the price of goods rises over time. But inflation doesn't always explain why certain goods become so much more expensive while the prices of others stay relatively unchanged or rise more gradually. In fact, we've taken a look at the price differences between key grocery items in the 1950s and the present day and found that the rise has been due to a complex mix of economic, social, and environmental changes over the decades. Generally speaking, modern supply chains are more complex and vulnerable to disruption, as seen during the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused shortages and price spikes that we are still dealing with today. Global events such as the war in Ukraine and extreme weather events like flooding or drought have also impacted food production, reducing supply but not demand. And, yet amidst all this, food and beverage corporations have managed to increase their profits, which can only come from charging more to consumers. The result is that we are all paying a much bigger share of our income than our grandparents did, especially for the items on this list. Read more: The Best Store-Bought Hazelnut Spread Is Way Better Than Nutella The price of eggs has famously skyrocketed after the advent of the latest bout of bird flu, which began in 2022 and has been going strong ever since. This event has led to the culling of millions of infected chickens, which in turn caused a shortage of eggs and a spike in demand compared to existing stock. Prices have reached an average of $8 for a dozen eggs in 2025 compared to $2.25 in mid-2024. But this is not the first bird flu our country has ever seen, nor will it be the last, so it cannot by itself explain the difference in the price of eggs between the 1950s and now, especially since egg prices have started to decrease again as the bird flu subsides. For instance, egg prices were already pretty high in the 1950s: The price of eggs was 52 cents a dozen, or upward of $5 per dozen when adjusted for inflation. That's because war rationing had driven up the prices after WWII, and by the 1950s, those prices were only just starting to decline. Meanwhile, the price of feed for chickens has gone up over the years, as has the price of labor. But perhaps in a more sinister turn, there is reason to believe that producers are artificially keeping the prices high to earn higher profits. Although a full investigation has yet to be carried out, many lawmakers believe it is suspicious that the country's biggest egg producer, Cal-Maine Foods, has seen a jump in profits of 82% late last year compared to the year before, suggesting egg prices are being manipulated. Meat has always been a cut above other groceries when it comes to price. Even so, beef and other meats seem to cost more now than they did in the 1950s when compared to average incomes. At the time, beef ranged from 87 cents to 96 cents per pound, while it currently averages $8.25 per pound. While inflation can explain some of this, it doesn't quite get to the meat of it. Certainly, the pandemic has played an important role: NerdWallet reports that food prices have increased by 31 percent compared to 2019, mostly because of increased operating costs and supply chain disruptions that occurred during the pandemic. But there is more. Beef farming is not a very sustainable venture, as sad as that is to admit. As climatic conditions worsen across the board, the challenges and costs of producing beef have risen, leading many farmers to reduce their herd sizes, thereby reducing the supply of beef and driving up costs for consumers, even though our country still produces more beef than any other in the world. The number of cattle roaming our great plains is now the lowest it's been since 1951, when the U.S. population was just nearly 150 million, compared to almost 344 million in 2025. Bananas are so ubiquitous across America that one could be forgiven for thinking they grow freely in our country. But alas, this is not so. Most bananas in the U.S. are imported from South and Central America — hotter climates that are currently suffering the effects of climate change more than ours, for the time being. How do we know this? That's because there is such a thing as the World Banana Forum, where major players in the global banana supply chain meet to discuss best industry practices, and they recently agreed that climate change will soon drive up the cost of bananas even more so. There may soon come a day when bananas are not so everpresent on our grocery store shelves. This is happening because while bananas like hot climates, they yield fewer and fewer bananas if their environment becomes too hot, decreasing the global supply. At the same time, warmer temperatures increase the risk the plants will contract diseases, like destructive fungi, that will stifle their growth. Even so, bananas have not significantly risen in price since the 1950s, when they cost 16 cents a pound — or $1.76 per pound when adjusted for inflation. At the time, bananas were rarer and considered luxury items, but after U.S. banana producers teamed up with authoritarian governments in the global south, prices were driven down, leading to a cost of about 63 cents per pound in 2025. The price of milk has increased since the 1950s, though not as much as some other foods. At the start of that decade, the household staple cost an average of 83 cents per gallon before rising to 93 cents per gallon in 1955, when milk delivery became a more streamlined process through the use of paper milk cartons over glass bottles. Although this helped stave off further price hikes unrelated to inflation, milk still somehow got to an average of more than $4 per gallon in 2025. This has been due to a number of factors, including the increasing cost of feed, energy, and labor. In particular, dairy farmers have had a tough time hiring labor, which has interfered with getting the milk to market. Meanwhile, cow herds are shrinking, and dairy production is tightening, compounding the price rises. The American diet would be very different without the copious use of sugar. Maybe it would be healthier; maybe it would be sadder, but the fact remains that we rely very much on this commodity and probably always will. This makes things difficult whenever the price of sugar goes up, which it periodically does. Indeed, while the U.S. produces some sugar locally, it also imports much of it from developing countries where political unrest can affect supplies and, therefore, prices. Indeed, most of the world's sugar comes from Brazil and other South or Central American countries. For instance, after the Cuban Revolution of 1959, the U.S. banned imports of sugar from that country, cutting off its most significant source of sugar. At the same time, a global production shortfall led to a spike in sugar prices everywhere, which seemed to suit sugar producers just fine, as they took advantage of the situation to further restrict the sugar supply and keep those prices high after those tumultuous events of the 1950s. Since then, the price of sugar has seen peaks and troughs, but overall, it is kept high by U.S. trade agreements that have restrictions on sugar imports and domestic production, keeping prices artificially high at just over $1 per pound compared to 48 cents per pound in the 1950s. Many people rely on coffee to help wake them up in the morning and set them up for a more productive day. Beyond that, coffee is a downright addictive substance that many people find hard to kick or even cut back on. So when it becomes clear that high coffee prices are here to stay, at least for a while, panic starts to set in. Indeed, early this year, the wholesale cost of arabica beans rose to more than $4 per pound, about double what it was a year ago, and people are not happy when they get to the checkout counter at the grocery store. You may have heard that recently imposed tariffs on imports from certain countries will negatively affect the price of coffee. But this event is too recent and unpredictable to explain why coffee prices have been so high this year. What is more likely is that excessive rains and long droughts in Brazil and Vietnam, huge coffee exporters to the U.S., have lowered crop yields. At the same time, other populations have decided that they want to start drinking more coffee, leading to a rise in global demand. For instance, over the past 10 years, coffee consumption in China has risen by 150%. That said, the 1950s also saw a significant spike in coffee prices, which peaked at more than $8 per pound of unroasted coffee beans, which is even higher than the current average of more than $4 per pound. This was due to the cyclical nature of Brazilian coffee harvests. If you live in a part of the country where apples grow plentiful, it may be hard to believe that the cost of apples could ever go up. Any New Englander, for instance, can tell you how every fall, the sides of the road are covered in rotting apples that fell from the apple trees present on almost every property in the countryside. They can tell you how these fallen apples attract bears and how many landowners would rather cut down their apple trees than deal with all that food waste. All this explains why the price of apples in the 1950s averaged 9 cents per pound — why apples now cost well over $1 per pound baffles the mind. Yet, the price of apples has increased. Since 2020, prices are up 13%, while the cost to grow apples has risen by 30%, primarily due to the increasing cost of labor and transportation of goods. In fact, unlike many other goods, like sugar or eggs, the problem with apples is that there are just too many of them. Storing and transporting all these fruits becomes problematic, causing apple growers to lose money and pass on that loss to consumers. One reason growers have too many apples is that they have lost access to major export markets like India, which imposed retaliatory tariffs on goods like apples in response to U.S. tariffs on steel. Butter makes every meal taste better, which is why it's especially tragic when the price of butter soars. However, this has been happening over the past year due to a global milk shortage. While butter cost about $2 per pound on average prior to 2021, it has now risen to about $3, which is a hike of about 15% —that's a lot when you're a croissant lover and have no intention of ever using margarine. This shortage has been caused in part by diseases affecting cows in Europe, a high demand for butter across the globe, and an increase in the cost of feed. That said, these are cyclical patterns that come and go, and as it happens, when adjusted for inflation, the price of butter these days is actually much lower than it was in the 1950s. At the time, butter sold for about 73 cents per pound, but that was more than $8 per pound when factoring in inflation. Pork is having a moment. It seems like the whole world has finally woken up and smelled the bacon because it appears that every country these days wants a piece of that pork pie. In other words, the demand for pork has skyrocketed while supplies have remained more or less the same, which has caused the price of pork to go up to $3.7 per pound, while bacon alone rose to $7.6 per pound since the 1950s when pork and bacon were respectively 61 cents per pound and 59 cents. China, in particular, has upped its consumption of pork, though the timing has been unlucky since this happened right around the time a swine flu epidemic attacked its pork production, causing it to have to import pork from our neck of the woods. Meanwhile, a new animal welfare law in California has increased costs for pork producers, at least temporarily, as many of them were required to make changes to their production procedures to comply with the new law, such as expanding their facilities to give their pigs more space to live a happier life, short as it may be. As producers adapt, delays and the production of pork products have followed suit, further restricting the global pork supply. Rice is one of the most common staples across the world and is especially widely consumed throughout Africa and Asia. But even here in the U.S., rice is often used. You will see it as a side in many Asian restaurants, but also in Italian restaurants in dishes like risotto or arancini. Rice flour is also a common ingredient in gluten-free flour blends — in short, everywhere you look, there is rice. This means that a rise in the price of rice can easily lead to a rise in the price of dinner in general. Indeed, this is what has been happening steadily — not just since the 1950s, but from 2023 onward in particular — for a variety of reasons. First, droughts and floods in rice-producing areas have led to a shortage of the product, but, perhaps more importantly, the policies of some countries have led to prices remaining artificially high, currently landing at about $1 per pound compared to 16 cents per pound in 1950. For instance, after Russia invaded Ukraine, access to affordable fertilizer became a problem for many grain growers, including rice producers. As if that weren't enough, India, one of the world's biggest exporters of rice, imposed an export ban on non-basmati rice to keep for its own citizens, shorting the market by about 10 million tons of rice it normally would have seen flow freely across borders. While that is all very well and good for the Indians, and rightly so, the rest of us will have to fork over more than usual for rice, at least for the time being. While potatoes remain relatively accessible across the land, there is another story unfolding around one of their most popular derivatives: the all-American potato chip. Indeed, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that potato chips are now 50% more expensive than they were 10 years ago, and certainly since the 1950s, when a bag of potatoes sold for only 71 cents per 15-pound bag compared to 2025 when just one pound of potatoes costs about 96 cents. This is happening because of a shortage of potatoes due to climate change, which is affecting some of the country's main potato-growing areas, such as Idaho and Pennsylvania, where potato crops are suffering from the effects of rising soil temperatures. One might think that this would affect the price of potatoes overall, and to some extent, it has. But potato chips are even more heavily impacted because it takes a lot of potatoes to make a single bag of chips. After all, chips are basically dried-out and shriveled-up potatoes, as appetizing as that sounds, which is also why you can't eat just one (while you literally can and probably do eat just one potato). Shrinkflation is a catchy term, but it's also a very real phenomenon that describes a practice where some food manufacturers decided, without really telling anyone, that they would charge the same amount for a product but provide less of it, leading people to get less bang for their buck. Shrinkflation has affected many groceries, especially cereals, where it can be harder to gauge how much product is in the box unless you're paying close attention to the grams noted on the package or the price per gram. The worst part of shrinkflation, though, is that investigations have found that some cereal companies not only downsized their products, but they did so while also increasing their prices. People unaware of the phenomenon might have noticed, with some degree of confusion, that they are now hungrier at breakfast or that some mysterious house elf seems to be siphoning away their cereal every morning. Those who do know what the cereal companies are up to can be forgiven for being very much annoyed by the practice. Yet this is not the first time in history that cereal has stood out for its priciness. Between 1950 and 1964, the price of cereal rose by 39% compared to 20% for other food items, likely because of its increase in popularity as it became known as a sugary treat rather than a health food. For instance, an 8-ounce box of cornflakes in 1950 cost 16 cents, while a 12-ounce box today is at least $6. Read the original article on Tasting Table. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
02-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (CALM): A Cheap Dividend Stock Being Targeted by Short Sellers
We recently published a list of the 25 Cheap Dividend Stocks Being Targeted by Short Sellers. In this article, we are going to take a look at where Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) stands against other cheap dividend stocks. Short sellers — investors who profit from falling stock prices —are seeing a surge in success in 2025. They gained $159 billion in paper profits over just six trading sessions as escalating trade tensions triggered a drop of more than 10% in the US stock market. The sharp market decline, the steepest since 2022, followed President Donald Trump's announcement of broad global tariffs. According to S3 Partners LLC, the most lucrative short position during this period was against the SPY ETF, which tracks the S&P Index. Traders betting against this fund have racked up over $6.1 billion in paper gains so far this month, based on an April 8 report from S3. Short sellers could profit from the sharp intraday market swings that wiped out trillions in value, though their actual gains will depend on when they close their positions. S3 data showed that another $46 billion in new short bets were added in April, raising the risk that these bearish positions could intensify the market's next major move, particularly if the current downturn reverses and pushes major indexes higher. Ihor Dusaniwsky, managing director of predictive analytics at S3, made the following comment: 'Overall, the short side was an extraordinarily profitable trade up and down the market during this correction. 81% of every short trade was profitable and 97% of every dollar shorted was a profitable trade.' Another report from S&P Dow Jones Indices noted that the average short interest in US stocks rose to 87 basis points over the past month. The biggest jumps were observed in the Automobiles sector, which climbed by 11 basis points, followed by a 10 basis-point increase in the Commercial and Professional Services sector, and a 9 basis-point rise in the Food and Beverage sector. Although dividend-paying stocks are generally considered more stable than growth stocks, they have still been subject to short selling throughout history. In their 1998 study Who Trades Around the Ex-Dividend Day?, Jennifer Lynch Koski and John T. Scruggs found unusual trading patterns leading up to the ex-dividend date. They suggested that security dealers might short a stock while it still includes the dividend and then repurchase it after the ex-dividend date if they expect the stock's price drop to be larger than the dividend amount. Similarly, in their research paper Tax-Induced Trading Around Ex-Dividend Days, Josef Lakonishok and Theo Vermaelen observed unusual levels of short selling on and shortly after the ex-dividend date. They found that this activity tends to be more pronounced in stocks offering higher dividend yields. Their findings suggest that short sellers aim to minimize the typical price drop that often follows the ex-dividend date. A close-up of an organic egg being carefully washed and inspected before being packaged. For this article, we screened for dividend stocks with more than 3% of their float sold short, using data from Yahoo Finance recorded on April 15. From that group, we picked stocks with dividend yields above 3%, as of April 28. Companies offering high dividend yields are often more likely to attract the attention of short sellers. The stocks are ranked in ascending order of their short % of float. At Insider Monkey, we are obsessed with hedge funds. Why are we interested in the stocks that hedge funds pile into? The reason is simple: our research has shown that we can outperform the market by imitating the top stock picks of the best hedge funds. Our quarterly newsletter's strategy selects 14 small-cap and large-cap stocks every quarter and has returned 373.4% since May 2014, beating its benchmark by 218 percentage points (). Short % of Float as of April 15: 17.06% Dividend Yield as of April 28: 8.11% Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) is the leading producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the US. The company has been under pressure lately as several major shareholders have decided to sell their stakes. On April 16, the company announced that the four daughters of its late founder, Fred R. Adams, Jr., along with his son-in-law, plan to offload nearly 3 million shares. At current market prices, the total value of the shares would be just under $280 million. However, the insiders are offering the shares at a discounted price of $92.75 each. The stock is down by over 9% since the start of 2025. However, Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) has posted impressive growth, fueled by higher egg prices, strong operational efficiency, and strategic moves like the acquisition of ISE America. In fiscal Q3 2025, revenue more than doubled, jumping 101.6% year-over-year, supported by strong demand and supply shortages linked to avian flu outbreaks, which helped lift gross margins from 31.1% to 50.5%. Backed by a solid balance sheet—with $497.2 million in cash and very little debt—Cal-Maine is well-positioned to expand its cage-free production efforts, keeping pace with regulatory changes and shifting consumer preferences. During the quarter, Cal-Maine Foods, Inc. (NASDAQ:CALM) also paid $170 million worth of dividends. The company currently offers a quarterly dividend of $1.49 per share and has a dividend yield of 8.11%, as recorded on April 28. Overall, CALM ranks 3rd on our list of the dividend stocks targeted by short sellers. While we acknowledge the potential of CALM as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that some deeply undervalued dividend stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter time frame. If you are looking for a deeply undervalued dividend stock that is more promising than CALM but that trades at 10 times its earnings and grows its earnings at double digit rates annually, check out our report about the . READ NEXT: 20 Best AI Stocks To Buy Now and 30 Best Stocks to Buy Now According to Billionaires. Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at . Sign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
30-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
US egg producer defends record profits amid DOJ probe — how to manage high prices without poaching your budget
It's hardly a secret that Americans have been paying a premium for eggs these past few months. But while consumers are struggling to afford this grocery staple, one egg company is allegedly profiting big time. Cal-Maine Foods — which calls itself "the largest producer and distributor of fresh shell eggs in the United States" — recently reported a net income of $508.5 million for its most recent fiscal quarter. I'm 49 years old and have nothing saved for retirement — what should I do? Don't panic. Here are 5 of the easiest ways you can catch up (and fast) Thanks to Jeff Bezos, you can now become a landlord for as little as $100 — and no, you don't have to deal with tenants or fix freezers. Here's how Nervous about the stock market in 2025? Find out how you can access this $1B private real estate fund (with as little as $10) Now, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is reportedly investigating Cal-Maine in order to determine whether the company is guilty of price fixing. Straight Arrow News reports the company enjoyed a nearly 250% increase in profits from a year prior, and that Cal-Maine attributes its profits to an 80% rise in the cost of eggs. Sherman Miller, president and CEO of Cal-Maine Foods, told Business Wire, "The entire Cal-Maine Foods team did an outstanding job in maximizing production through a period of high demand, while operating safely and maintaining diligence on biosecurity measures. "We were fortunate to have the ability to utilize our existing operational scale and to benefit from recent acquisitions, which helped increase our production capacity in this challenging supply environment." In March of 2025, egg prices in America reached a record high of $6.23 per dozen, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Given that eggs are a staple in many households, consumers had no choice but to pay up. But now, the DOJ is wondering whether something shady was happening on Cal-Maine's part. The company, along with others, is being investigated after being accused by advocacy groups of price fixing. Price fixing occurs when competing companies enter into an agreement to keep prices intentionally high to boost their profits. Companies tend to have an easier time setting prices high when there's a shortage of a given commodity. Cal-Maine claims that it made great progress in addressing the country's egg shortage this past quarter by increasing its amount of layer hens by 14% and investing in safety measures to combat the avian flu, per Straight Arrow News. The company has also since dropped its egg prices and says it's cooperating with the DOJ investigation. The company, however, maintains that it didn't engage in any wrongdoing. Rather, it says that higher market prices came as a result of reduced supply during a period of 'peak seasonal demand for eggs and egg products,' reports Food Engineering Magazine. However, this isn't the first time Cal-Maine has faced legal trouble. In 2023, Cal-Maine and other egg producers were found guilty of price fixing and were required to pay out more than $50 million. But this time around, it's unclear as to whether there's any wrongdoing at play. Emily Metz — president and CEO of American Egg Board, which represents egg producers across the country — said that accusing companies of egg price fixing is "misreading of facts and reality," according to ABC News. Read more: This hedge fund legend warns US stock market will crash a stunning 80% — claims 'Armageddon' is coming. Don't believe him? He earned 4,144% during COVID. Here's 3 ways to protect yourself CBS MoneyWatch reports that wholesale egg prices have fallen 43% since the start of the year. Egg prices at Stew Leonard's, a Northeast grocery chain, have declined recently, and director of sales Andrew Hollis had encouraging words for consumers. "We're definitely back to low-price eggs again,' Hollis told CBS MoneyWatch. 'There's a lot of relief and plenty of supply." Still, consumers should be vigilant about tracking egg prices and finding ways to save, especially at a time when grocery prices are high across the board. One good way to save money on eggs is to buy them in bulk. For example, if you have a Costco membership, use it. You may also be able to save money by purchasing eggs directly from farms, as opposed to buying them at your local supermarket. Local farmers markets could also be an option. It's also a good idea to review the supermarket circular (which you can typically get online) for every supermarket in your neighborhood before going egg shopping. This should tell you where you can get the lowest price. Apps like Flipp and Instacart can also help you track egg prices across grocers to see where you can find the best deal. In the meantime, if the cost of eggs is beyond your budget, you may be able to cut back on buying them if you're willing to get creative in the kitchen. Applesauce, for example, can often be used in place of eggs when you're baking. And in some cases, mashed banana can serve as a binding agent if egg prices are too steep for your budget. Want an extra $1,300,000 when you retire? Dave Ramsey says this 7-step plan 'works every single time' to kill debt, get rich in America — and that 'anyone' can do it Rich, young Americans are ditching the stormy stock market — here are the alternative assets they're banking on instead Here are 5 'must have' items that Americans (almost) always overpay for — and very quickly regret. How many are hurting you? This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind. Sign in to access your portfolio
