Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,346 shares of the company’s stock after selling 825 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $201,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at about $37,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 774.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HRL. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.57.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $31.32 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a market capitalization of $17.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.84 and a 200-day moving average of $32.46. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.282 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 80.71%.

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.