Kennebec Savings Bank Trims Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Kennebec Savings Bank cut its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 9.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 387 shares during the quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in 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 valued at $58,548,000 after buying an additional 66,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired 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 and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.8 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.44 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $31.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.47. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 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 quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current 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 $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

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.