Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) VP Buys $159,232.88 in Stock

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $33.56 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $18.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.12 and its 200-day moving average is $31.43. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.46%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on HRL shares. BNP Paribas assumed 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. Citigroup reduced 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. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,526 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $222,000. Tudor Financial Inc. bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,060,000. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 155,200 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,920,000 after purchasing an additional 12,596 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.