Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Bought by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 13.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,513 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,210 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,108,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 516.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 23.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,927 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 10.3% in the third quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,801 shares of the company’s stock worth $145,000 after purchasing an additional 355 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $174,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of Hormel Foods stock opened at $35.60 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $33.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.39. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $41.73. The stock has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a PE ratio of 24.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.2825 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.17%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 77.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,800 shares of company stock worth $1,414,872. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

About Hormel Foods

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.