KBC Group NV Boosts Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

KBC Group NV lifted its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 42,385 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 493 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,330,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the 4th 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 period. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.4 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $30.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 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 fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.36 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.46.

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

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.87%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

Hormel Foods Company 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.