Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Holdings Raised by Everence Capital Management Inc.

Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 122.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 26,930 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,820 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $845,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 56.0% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,934,000 after purchasing an additional 802,816 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,602,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,867,000 after buying an additional 742,859 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,659,000 after acquiring an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,738,000 after acquiring an additional 575,378 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 59.1% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,244,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,470,000 after acquiring an additional 462,283 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $31.36 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $17.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $31.39 and a 200-day moving average of $31.48.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on HRL. BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

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.