Kentucky Retirement Systems Raises Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Kentucky Retirement Systems increased its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 23,174 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 470 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $744,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 23.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after acquiring an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lifted 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 lifted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the business’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $36.43 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $41.73. The company has a market cap of $19.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.95, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $34.99 and its 200 day moving average is $32.78.

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

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.10%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 77.40%.

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.