Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd Invests $335,000 in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 10,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $335,000.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Marshall Wace LLP raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.4% in the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,602,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,867,000 after purchasing an additional 742,859 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,738,000 after acquiring an additional 575,378 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 59.1% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,244,448 shares of the company’s stock worth $37,470,000 after acquiring an additional 462,283 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 15.4% during the second 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. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 328.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 514,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,297,000 after purchasing an additional 394,068 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL stock opened at $32.43 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $31.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.61. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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. 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. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on HRL shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas started 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 on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods 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.