SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Purchases 3,107 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 464,890 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,107 shares during the period. Hormel Foods makes up about 2.5% of SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Hormel Foods worth $14,584,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 202.4% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 94,599 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 63,313 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 14.9% in the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,238 shares of the company’s stock valued at $221,000 after buying an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 81.0% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 36,665 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,118,000 after buying an additional 16,409 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 23.7% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 260,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,947,000 after buying an additional 49,995 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 9.7% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 82,282 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,285 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HRL. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set 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 note on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

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 stock was purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.89 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.32 and its 200 day moving average is $31.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company 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 represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.45%.

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.