First Trust Advisors LP Reduces Position in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

First Trust Advisors LP decreased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 3.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,843,537 shares of the company’s stock after selling 95,363 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned 0.52% of Hormel Foods worth $64,406,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $310,000. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 40.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 7,129 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 214.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,731 shares of the company’s stock worth $143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 76.5% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 103,616 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 44,906 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.14.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $25.30 on Friday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a twelve month low of $19.70 and a twelve month high of $29.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.33. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The business’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.6%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $495,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,369.02. The trade was a 38.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.