California Public Employees Retirement System Cuts Stake in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 27.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 541,021 shares of the company’s stock after selling 200,596 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $12,254,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,338,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,098,000 after purchasing an additional 269,941 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 4,526,167 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,080,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,805,000 after buying an additional 63,583 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 30.2% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,714,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,139,000 after buying an additional 1,557,595 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,618,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,864,000 after purchasing an additional 849,357 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $25.30 on Friday. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.33. Hormel Foods Corporation has a one year low of $19.70 and a one year high of $29.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. Hormel Foods’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HRL. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.14.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,369.02. The trade was a 38.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

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.