Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Acquired by CWA Asset Management Group LLC

CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 9.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,314 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 929 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,659,000 after purchasing an additional 617,308 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,362,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,646,000 after purchasing an additional 120,212 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 5.2% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,267,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,570,000 after acquiring an additional 162,577 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 412,313 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 575,378 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.0 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.48. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.81%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on HRL shares. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.29.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.