Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Stake Lessened by Accredited Investors Inc.

Accredited Investors Inc. lessened its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 13,462 shares of the company’s stock after selling 463 shares during the period. Accredited Investors Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of HRL. Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 66,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,710 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.1% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 184,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,836,000 after purchasing an additional 7,283 shares in the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 23.9% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 85,793 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,720,000 after purchasing an additional 16,551 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 57,363 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,818,000 after purchasing an additional 3,350 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 10.3% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,784 shares of the company’s stock valued at $310,000 after purchasing an additional 912 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This trade represents a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,094.99. This represents a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.57.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 3.9 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $29.21 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $31.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.92. The company has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a dividend of $0.282 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.58%.

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.