Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Stock Position Raised by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lifted its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 67.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 110,000 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 44,298 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,451,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Greenleaf Trust raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the period. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $29.66 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $30.31 and a 200-day moving average of $31.14. The firm has a market cap of $16.28 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.03 and a twelve month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on HRL. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods 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.