Raymond James & Associates Raises Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 164,216 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 7,663 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $5,206,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $37,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $42,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, 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 three months, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE HRL opened at $30.92 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $36.86. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.61 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.25. The firm has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 0.25.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.282 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.65%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.58%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HRL. Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.57.

Hormel Foods 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.