CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC Raises Stock Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,445 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,944,000 after acquiring an additional 34,589 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,548,000 after buying an additional 66,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $30.89 on Friday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.32 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.47. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The stock has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given 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 of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on HRL shares. Citigroup decreased 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, November 19th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.