Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL Shares Acquired by Fourth Sail Capital LP

Fourth Sail Capital LP increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 104.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,441,662 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 736,662 shares during the period. Hormel Foods makes up approximately 5.5% of Fourth Sail Capital LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Fourth Sail Capital LP owned about 0.26% of Hormel Foods worth $34,167,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,352,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526,167 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $85,840,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 297.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,198,564 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,815,000 after acquiring an additional 3,142,670 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 126.2% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,174,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770,852 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 189.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,414,341 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581,046 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. Stephens boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 target price on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $25.67.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL opened at $24.78 on Friday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52-week low of $19.70 and a 52-week high of $31.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.63 billion, a PE ratio of 29.15, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.94. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $21.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.07.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 137.65%.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.