Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 66,261 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.34% of Hormel Foods worth $58,548,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,302,000 after acquiring an additional 26,390 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $2,177,000. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $201,000. Finally, Alpha Family Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $316,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $32.44 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $31.01 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on HRL shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.29.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This trade represents a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This represents a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 in the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.