Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Sells 759 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund decreased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 8.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,604 shares of the company’s stock after selling 759 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $273,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $37,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $29.75 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $36.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results 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. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict 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 was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th were issued a $0.282 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.79%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,094.99. This trade represents a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Two 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.29.

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.