Fisher Asset Management LLC Boosts Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 34.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 74,981 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,246 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,352,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on HRL shares. 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.5 %

HRL stock opened at $28.76 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.98. The company has a market capitalization of $15.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.70, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% 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.