Vest Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 17.0% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,825,660 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 264,813 shares during the period. Hormel Foods accounts for 1.0% of Vest Financial LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Vest Financial LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $57,271,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Truist Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 110.8% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 19,571 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $272,000. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,198 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,877,000 after purchasing an additional 3,884 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% in the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 486,932 shares of the company’s stock worth $15,436,000 after buying an additional 13,200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $29.23 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $31.39. The company has a market cap of $16.04 billion, a PE ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86.

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

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.