Exeter Financial LLC Increases Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Exeter Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 15.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,428 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,153 shares during the period. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 63,015 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,977,000 after buying an additional 3,817 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.9% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 10,314 shares of the company’s stock worth $324,000 after acquiring an additional 929 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 122.4% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 26,930 shares of the company’s stock valued at $845,000 after acquiring an additional 14,820 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 349.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,068 shares of the company’s stock valued at $190,000 after acquiring an additional 4,717 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.4% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 50,526 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,578,000 after purchasing an additional 1,651 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.23 on Tuesday. 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 market cap of $16.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.71, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.49.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.84%. 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. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.