Cal Maine shares could double again: Barron's

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The stock of Cal Maine Foods Inc (CALM.O) has nearly doubled in value over the past year on rising egg prices and could double yet again as the company raises its profit margins and customers embrace specialty eggs, said Barron's in its July 7 edition.

The Jackson, Mississippi-based egg producer and distributor, the country's largest, is on track to increase its full-year earnings per share by 290 percent, as its gross profit margins rose to 33.3 percent in the first nine months of the fiscal year from 18.1 percent in the year-ago period, Barron's said.

Citing investors, the weekly said if egg prices hold steady around $1.40 to $1.50 a dozen, Cal Maine's earnings per share could rise to $7 next year, from $4.86 for the first nine months of fiscal 2008.

The weekly also reported that of the 55 percent of Cal Maine stock available to the public, more than 100 percent is sold short, prompting the company's management to complain to Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Phil Wahba, editing by Richard Chang)