Bank of Montreal Can Buys 25,102 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.7% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 968,296 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,102 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $30,714,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $37,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $42,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. This trade represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $31.92 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $30.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.29.

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.