First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Sells 2,178 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. reduced its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 9.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,902 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,178 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $639,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $200,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 368,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,843,000 after buying an additional 46,922 shares during the period. AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.0% in the fourth quarter. AM Investment Strategies LLC now owns 107,151 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,441,000 after buying an additional 6,063 shares during the last quarter. Semanteon Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $860,000. Finally, Syon Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $232,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on HRL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $35.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $19.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.09, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.49. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $41.73. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $34.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.46.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.21%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.40%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 40,800 shares of company stock worth $1,414,872. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

About Hormel Foods

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.