Point72 DIFC Ltd Takes $372,000 Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Point72 DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 11,726 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $372,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Millennium Management LLC increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,210,000 after buying an additional 412,313 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,738,000 after acquiring an additional 575,378 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its position in Hormel Foods by 56.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,934,000 after purchasing an additional 802,816 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,548,000 after purchasing an additional 66,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,772,481 shares of the company’s stock valued at $54,043,000 after purchasing an additional 6,315 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,094.99. This trade represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,935. This trade represents a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.2 %

HRL opened at $32.46 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $31.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.86, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.57%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products that include fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, guacamoles, and bacons; and shelf-stable products comprising canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, nutritional food supplements, and others.