Vest Financial LLC Grows Position in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Vest Financial LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 7.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,285,103 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 165,403 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $56,716,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 354.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 57.5% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 531 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the subject of several research reports. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price objective on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.14.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,002 shares in the company, valued at $784,369.02. This trade represents a 38.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL stock opened at $24.45 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. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.70 and a 52 week high of $29.34. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $24.90 and its 200 day moving average is $23.46. The firm has a market cap of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 137.65%.

Hormel Foods 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.