Xponance Inc. Trims Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Xponance Inc. trimmed its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 37,364 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,104 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,200,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. PAX Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.7% during the third quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 13,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares in the last quarter. Huntington National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after buying an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the period. Insight Folios Inc increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 7,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after acquiring an additional 433 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,325,231.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.00.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.3 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $35.60 on Thursday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $41.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $33.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.17%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 77.40%.

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.