Davis Capital Management Has $585,000 Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Davis Capital Management decreased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 6.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,654 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,346 shares during the quarter. Davis Capital Management’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $585,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $30.82 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.26. The company’s 50-day moving average is $31.27 and its 200-day moving average is $31.47. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week 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.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.17.

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.