Creative Planning Trims Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Creative Planning lowered its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 7.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,524 shares of the company’s stock after selling 9,177 shares during the quarter. Creative Planning’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,400,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 32.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 38,162 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,225,000 after buying an additional 9,282 shares during the period. KBC Group NV grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 50,860 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,633,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 97.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,900,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,151,000 after acquiring an additional 1,434,437 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 38,555 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,238,000 after acquiring an additional 2,328 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 54,582 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,753,000 after acquiring an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $31.35 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $32.01 and its 200 day moving average is $32.75. 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 $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $38.27.

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

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on HRL shares. Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $32.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Corporate 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.