WealthPlan Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

WealthPlan Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 323,313 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,564 shares during the quarter. Hormel Foods makes up approximately 1.0% of WealthPlan Investment Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. WealthPlan Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.06% of Hormel Foods worth $10,142,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Greenleaf Trust raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after buying an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the 4th quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.17.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 purchase, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $28.47 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.30. 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 fifty-two week low of $28.27 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 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 business had revenue of $3.14 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 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 given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.08%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

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.