Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Holdings Lifted by Sanders Morris Harris LLC

Sanders Morris Harris LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 51.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,850 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,700 shares during the quarter. Sanders Morris Harris LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $537,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,659,000 after purchasing an additional 617,308 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,362,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,646,000 after purchasing an additional 120,212 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 5.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,267,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,570,000 after buying an additional 162,577 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 412,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,738,000 after purchasing an additional 575,378 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $29.36 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.11, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.48.

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

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.95%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 77.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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.