Financial Counselors Inc. Buys 2,966 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 372,875 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,966 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $11,820,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % 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, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This trade represents a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 in the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $31.92 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.99 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.66. The company has a market cap of $17.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.48, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

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

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.