Appian Way Asset Management LP Decreases Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Appian Way Asset Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 68.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 120,362 shares of the company’s stock after selling 267,011 shares during the period. Hormel Foods comprises approximately 0.9% of Appian Way Asset Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding. Appian Way Asset Management LP’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 86.4% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 1,602,732 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,867,000 after purchasing an additional 742,859 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,738,000 after purchasing an additional 575,378 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 59.1% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,244,448 shares of the company’s stock valued at $37,470,000 after purchasing an additional 462,283 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,210,000 after purchasing an additional 412,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 328.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 514,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,297,000 after purchasing an additional 394,068 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $32.44 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $31.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.64. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86.

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

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on HRL shares. Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup reduced their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This trade represents a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 in the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.