Bank of Montreal Can Grows Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 968,296 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 25,102 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.18% of Hormel Foods worth $30,714,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 11,141 shares of the company’s stock worth $388,000 after buying an additional 629 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 404,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,112,000 after purchasing an additional 17,208 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 391.3% in the 1st quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 182,373 shares of the company’s stock worth $6,360,000 after purchasing an additional 145,255 shares during the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter worth about $242,000. Finally, Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. Sanibel Captiva Trust Company Inc. now owns 12,508 shares of the company’s stock worth $436,000 after purchasing an additional 1,488 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $31.92 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.99 and a 200-day moving average of $31.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share 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 given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were 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 owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 in the last quarter. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.29.

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.