Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Stock Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 328.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 514,116 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 394,068 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $16,297,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in HRL. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $610,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 774.8% in 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 in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter valued at $206,000. Finally, First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 20,291 shares of the company’s stock worth $708,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE HRL opened at $31.06 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $31.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.39. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $36.86.

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

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a $0.282 dividend. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.58%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,313,850.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 0.00 % 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 quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.