Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Purchased by Czech National Bank

Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 59,198 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,884 shares during the period. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HRL. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 15.9% in the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $291,000 after acquiring an additional 1,240 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $620,000. Syon Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $232,000. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in 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 buying an additional 1,434,437 shares during the period. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 73,393 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,357,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. This trade 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 through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,313,850.95. 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 sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on HRL shares. Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target 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, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $31.08 on Friday. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.62. The company has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.25.

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

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.282 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

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.