Everence Capital Management Inc. Makes New $384,000 Investment in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 12,110 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $384,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 21.8% during the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 571,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,931,000 after acquiring an additional 102,141 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 26.2% in the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 735,246 shares of the company’s stock valued at $22,418,000 after purchasing an additional 152,800 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the first quarter worth about $756,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 12.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 360,504 shares of the company’s stock valued at $12,578,000 after purchasing an additional 40,130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 774.8% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 2.7 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $31.32 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.46. The company has a market cap of $17.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.71%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the 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 owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,094.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,313,850.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on HRL. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.57.

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.