Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Dark Forest Capital Management LP

Dark Forest Capital Management LP decreased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 36.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,823 shares of the company’s stock after selling 4,584 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $102,598,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in Hormel Foods by 67.1% during the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,810,000 after buying an additional 1,175,087 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Hormel Foods by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,227,000 after buying an additional 1,107,270 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,751,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,674,000 after acquiring an additional 634,630 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company’s stock worth $246,041,000 after acquiring an additional 533,657 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on HRL. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of HRL stock opened at $29.63 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $16.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.83 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.45.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

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.