Dividend Cracks in Half at Cal-Maine Foods
- July 26, 2010
- Dividend News, Featured, High Yield Dividend Stocks
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Cal-Maine Foods (CALM: 32.6412 +9.94%) announced today that the company will cut their dividend almost in half, from $.48 per share all the way down to $.29 per share.
Investors in the egg producer are wiping the egg from the faces this morning as CALM’s dividend yield dropped from 6.5% on Friday to only 3.9% today.
The dividend cut comes as Cal-Maine reported 104% growth in profits in their fiscal fourth quarter. Management commented that the company is experiencing “favorable market conditions” with demand strong and average sale prices increasing. However, the company is concerned that feed costs could increase over the next year and the company is taking measures to conserve cash now.
Fred Adams, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer of Cal-Maine Foods, Inc., stated, “Looking ahead, we project that fiscal 2011 will be a good year for Cal-Maine Foods; however, we expect feed costs will be relatively high and volatile.”
The dividend will be payable on August 22, 2010 to shareholders of record as of August 7, 2010.
Cal-Maine shares were up nearly 11% in early morning trading on the strong earnings results. However, even with the big jump today, the stock is still in negative territory for the year.
