Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Sells 1,669 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lessened its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,613 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,669 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,556,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $31.62 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $31.01 and its 200 day moving average is $31.66. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $17.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.26. 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 (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 the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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 target for the company. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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 on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This trade represents a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were 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 approximately $976,094.99. This trade represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.