Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Retirement Systems of Alabama

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,831 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,632 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,050,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HRL. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 28.0% in the 3rd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,959,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,504,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 54.4% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 868,251 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,880,000 after buying an additional 305,866 shares in the last quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 86.7% in the 3rd quarter. CBOE Vest Financial LLC now owns 562,385 shares of the company’s stock valued at $21,388,000 after buying an additional 261,234 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $8,595,000. Finally, Trexquant Investment LP grew its position in Hormel Foods by 195.1% in the 3rd quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 304,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,584,000 after buying an additional 201,377 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $35.12 on Thursday. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $41.73. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $34.57 and a 200-day moving average of $32.51. The firm has a market cap of $19.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.28.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,015. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% 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.