Curbstone Financial Management Corp Lowers Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Curbstone Financial Management Corp trimmed its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,951 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,800 shares during the quarter. Curbstone Financial Management Corp’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $759,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 9.9% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,638,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,729,000 after purchasing an additional 505,942 shares in the last quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 5,459,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,290,000 after buying an additional 108,944 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 15.4% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock worth $94,210,000 after acquiring an additional 412,313 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 97.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,900,989 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434,437 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.17.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $31.11 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $32.02 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $38.27.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS 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 business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 3.63%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.71%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,313,850.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,935. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.