Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Raises Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,291 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 849 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Greenleaf Trust lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after purchasing an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on HRL. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup dropped their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $28.99 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $31.04 and its 200 day moving average is $31.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.91 billion, a PE ratio of 19.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 79.45%.

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.