8,800 Shares in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Purchased by nVerses Capital LLC

nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,800 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $279,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 9.9% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,638,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $196,729,000 after purchasing an additional 505,942 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 15.4% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,210,000 after buying an additional 412,313 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Hormel Foods by 24.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,738,000 after buying an additional 575,378 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,772,481 shares of the company’s stock worth $54,043,000 after acquiring an additional 6,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 86.4% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,602,732 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,867,000 after acquiring an additional 742,859 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on HRL shares. Citigroup raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction 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 transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE HRL opened at $32.20 on Friday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a PE ratio of 23.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $31.84 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $32.52.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share 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 issued a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 80.71%.

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.