Burney Co. Reduces Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Burney Co. reduced its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 7.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,132 shares of the company’s stock after selling 500 shares during the period. Burney Co.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 774.8% during the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 396.9% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,749 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 1,397 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $32.87 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $31.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.54. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $41.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.24.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.31% and a net margin of 6.37%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 80.71%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on HRL. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.67.

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.