Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 116,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,207 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 47.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of HRL opened at $28.56 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market cap of $15.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $30.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.20. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.03 and a 12-month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during 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%. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HRL. Citigroup reduced their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.