Weiss Asset Management LP Buys New Stake in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Weiss Asset Management LP bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 36,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Caxton Associates LLP purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter valued at about $310,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.8% during the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 40.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 7,129 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 214.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 76.5% in the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 103,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 44,906 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $26.06 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $24.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $23.35. 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 stock has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.70 and a 1 year high of $29.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 earned $0.35 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders 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 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on HRL. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, July 17th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.14.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $495,102.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,369.02. This represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.

About Hormel Foods

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.