Financial Counselors Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 370,728 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,147 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Hormel Foods worth $11,630,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 626,360 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,649,000 after purchasing an additional 20,514 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Hormel Foods by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,548,000 after acquiring an additional 66,261 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL opened at $29.59 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. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.27 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $29.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.70. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.67%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HRL. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.80.

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.