Allstate Corp Purchases New Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 9,076 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $102,598,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,087 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,659,000 after purchasing an additional 617,308 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $16,612,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,241,219 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,168,257,000 after purchasing an additional 268,328 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $30.63 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $16.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. The business’s 50 day moving average is $29.54 and its 200-day moving average is $30.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company 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 3.79%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.