Private Advisor Group LLC Lowers Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Private Advisor Group LLC trimmed its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 93,295 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,123 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,927,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 56.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,934,000 after buying an additional 802,816 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,659,000 after acquiring an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,612,000. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,825,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,271,000 after purchasing an additional 264,813 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 5.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,267,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,570,000 after purchasing an additional 162,577 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of HRL opened at $29.17 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.03 and a one year high of $36.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.12. 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 (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.