Advisory Alpha LLC Grows Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Advisory Alpha LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 20.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,453 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,306 shares during the period. Advisory Alpha LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $422,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of HRL opened at $30.35 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.28 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.47. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.