Cal-Maine Stock Sinks as DOJ Egg Price Probe Outweighs Surging Sales, Profits

Shares of Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) fell 5% in premarket trading Wednesday as a request for information from the U.S. Department of Justice on egg prices outweighed surging fiscal third-quarter sales and profits.

Cal-Maine said Tuesday that it received a “civil investigative demand” last month from the DOJ’s antitrust division, as the department is investigating allegations of price gouging in the egg industry. An outbreak of bird flu has led to a sharp decline in egg supply, which has sent prices surging in recent quarters. Cal-Maine, the largest egg producer in the country, said it is cooperating with the DOJ’s investigation.

Cal-Maine’s Sales Double, Profits Triple Year-Over-Year

Cal-Maine earned $10.38 per share on revenue of $1.42 billion in its fiscal third quarter, more than triple the $3 per share and double the $703.1 million it generated a year ago. The company’s average selling price of a dozen eggs was $4.06 in the quarter, nearly double the $2.25 mark from a year ago. It said that as of March 1, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimated the total egg-laying flock in the country was 285 million, the lowest level since September 2015.

The company also said it had agreed to acquire Echo Lake Foods, which makes ready-to-eat egg products and breakfast foods, for roughly $258 million.