Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. Buys 16,444 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 35.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 62,630 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 16,444 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,991,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $28.86 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.11 and its 200 day moving average is $31.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

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.