PNC Financial Services Group Inc. Grows Stock Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 7.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 154,437 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,026 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $4,959,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 30.5% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 12,273 shares of the company’s stock worth $467,000 after purchasing an additional 2,867 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.2% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,626,471 shares of the company’s stock worth $61,855,000 after buying an additional 35,731 shares during the period. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,181,000. Mirabella Financial Services LLP acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,164,000. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,510,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,455,000 after purchasing an additional 167,920 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HRL. Citigroup started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” 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, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $35.11 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. 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 market cap of $19.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.28. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $35.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $32.83.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 11.51%. 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 posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.40%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total value of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,015. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.