Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,890,569 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 82.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,772 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,890,569 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.07% of Hormel Foods worth $12,990,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $39,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired 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 in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $31.85 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a PE ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.46. 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 (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HRL shares. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of 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 assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.29.

About Hormel Foods

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.