With the price of a dozen %Eggs still elevated, investors might want to look at small-cap stock %CalMaineFoods (NASDAQ: $CALM).
Based in Jackson, Mississippi, Cal-Maine is the largest egg producer in the U.S. In 2024, the company’s 40 million egg-laying hens produced 1.1 billion dozen eggs.
That translates into 13.2 billion eggs produced and sold by Cal-Maine last year.
The company has operations nationwide in America, stretching from California to Maine, which is why the company is called “Cal-Maine.”
Currently, the price of a dozen eggs in America is right around $3 U.S. That’s down from an all-time high of $8.17 U.S. reached in March of this year, but still high by historic measures.
The record high egg prices have been a boon to Cal-Maine’s stock, which is up nearly 60% in the last 12 months.
Egg prices have been driven higher by avian influenza, or bird flu, which has killed millions of egg-producing hens on American farms.
While the elevated egg prices have become an issue for consumers, they have led to a big jump in Cal-Maine’s profits and its share price.
Despite the big jump in the stock, Cal-Maine still trades at a cheap valuation of only 4.73 times this year’s earnings estimates.
CALM stock also offers a massive dividend that yields 7.07%. Shareholders of record receive a quarterly distribution from the company of $1.69 U.S. per share.
With a cheap valuation, rising share price, and chunky dividend, what’s not to like about Cal-Maine’s stock?
A market capitalization of $4.65 billion U.S. makes Cal-Maine a small-cap security, defined as any stock with a market value of less than $10 billion U.S.
Some consumer groups have accused the company of price fixing as egg prices remain elevated, charges the company strongly denies.
And while egg prices have declined sharply in recent months, they could rise again in the near-term, a development that would surely send CALM stock even higher.
