Grandfield & Dodd LLC Grows Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 924,365 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 26,390 shares during the quarter. Hormel Foods makes up 1.7% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $29,302,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $42,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 value of $327,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. This represents a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % 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. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HRL shares. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. 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 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Two investment analysts have 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.2 %

NYSE HRL opened at $29.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.12 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.81. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for 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 firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a $0.282 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 79.58%.

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.