Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Buys 134,983 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,849,174 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 134,983 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.24% of Hormel Foods worth $155,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vest Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,042,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,408,000 after acquiring an additional 171,137 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 38,341.8% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 124,167 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,007,000 after purchasing an additional 123,844 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity National Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $15,642,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 465,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,025,000 after buying an additional 81,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Advocate Group LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $2,319,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,002 shares in the company, valued at $784,369.02. This trade represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on HRL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.14.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $25.30 on Monday. 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 Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.70 and a 12 month high of $29.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average of $23.33.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

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

Hormel Foods Profile

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.