Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Bought by Public Sector Pension Investment Board

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 17.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,206 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $355,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 15.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,210,000 after acquiring an additional 412,313 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 24.0% during 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 last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,548,000 after buying an additional 66,261 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,772,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,043,000 after buying an additional 6,315 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 86.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,602,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,867,000 after buying an additional 742,859 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.2 %

Shares of HRL stock opened at $32.47 on Monday. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $36.86. The stock has a market cap of $17.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.24, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced 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). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.57%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 77.40%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. This represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the topic of several research reports. Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

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.