It's Showtime for Cal-Maine Foods

Cal-Maine Foods (Nasdaq: CALM  ) is expected to report Q4 earnings on July 29. Here's what Wall Street wants to see:

The 10-second takeaway
Comparing the upcoming quarter to the prior-year quarter, average analyst estimates predict Cal-Maine Foods's revenues will grow 16.0% and EPS will wither -50.6%.

The average estimate for revenue is $319.3 million. On the bottom line, the average EPS estimate is $0.77.

Revenue details
Last quarter, Cal-Maine Foods booked revenue of $360.4 million. GAAP reported sales were 19% higher than the prior-year quarter's $303.7 million.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Dollar amounts in millions. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

EPS details
Last quarter, EPS came in at $1.27. GAAP EPS of $1.27 for Q3 were 17% higher than the prior-year quarter's $1.09 per share.

Source: S&P Capital IQ. Quarterly periods. Non-GAAP figures may vary to maintain comparability with estimates.

Recent performance
For the preceding quarter, gross margin was 18.6%, 290 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Operating margin was 8.6%, 290 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter. Net margin was 8.5%, 10 basis points worse than the prior-year quarter.

Looking ahead

The full year's average estimate for revenue is $1.28 billion. The average EPS estimate is $2.91.

Investor sentiment
The stock has a five-star rating (out of five) at Motley Fool CAPS, with 727 members out of 767 rating the stock outperform, and 40 members rating it underperform. Among 170 CAPS All-Star picks (recommendations by the highest-ranked CAPS members), 163 give Cal-Maine Foods a green thumbs-up, and seven give it a red thumbs-down.

Of Wall Street recommendations tracked by S&P Capital IQ, the average opinion on Cal-Maine Foods is hold, with an average price target of $44.00.

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