D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Lowers Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. decreased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 28.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,072,893 shares of the company’s stock after selling 420,439 shares during the period. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned 0.20% of Hormel Foods worth $32,713,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 63.7% during the 4th quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 39,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,267,000 after purchasing an additional 15,356 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 106,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,418,000 after buying an additional 2,079 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $831,000. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 200,874 shares of the company’s stock valued at $6,450,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 32.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 38,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after acquiring an additional 9,282 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $31.72 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $38.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.71%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Citigroup upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.33.

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.