Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Bought by Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,591 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,749 shares during the quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth about $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HRL. Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE HRL opened at $30.89 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.47.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 79.45%.

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.