Fortress Financial Group LLC Makes New Investment in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Fortress Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 30,052 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $943,000. Hormel Foods accounts for 0.9% of Fortress Financial Group LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Citigroup decreased 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 note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Insider Activity

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

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.0 %

HRL opened at $28.45 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.49, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $30.07 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.07.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Company 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.