Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Position Reduced by Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC

Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,077 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,771 shares during the period. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of HRL. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Alpha Family Trust bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $316,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 11.2% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 66,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,111,000 after acquiring an additional 6,710 shares during the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 184,092 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,836,000 after buying an additional 7,283 shares during the period. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 23.9% in the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 85,793 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,720,000 after acquiring an additional 16,551 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Citigroup upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.57.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $29.40 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.70, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.17 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.85. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th were given a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 79.58%.

Hormel Foods Company 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.