Private Advisor Group LLC Sells 6,372 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Private Advisor Group LLC cut its holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 6.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 86,923 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,372 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,689,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $102,598,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 496.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,185,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $68,562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819,100 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 466.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,053,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $64,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690,746 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 186.0% during the fourth quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,041,356 shares of the company’s stock worth $32,667,000 after acquiring an additional 677,194 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of HRL stock opened at $29.55 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.17. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $30.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $29.94. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $33.80.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 85.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $32.86.

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.