Bank of Montreal Can Boosts Stock Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 943,194 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 172,840 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.17% of Hormel Foods worth $28,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth about $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HRL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,935. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,313,850.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $31.57 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $32.04 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.87. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $38.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.282 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 80.71%.

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.