Farther Finance Advisors LLC Buys 5,115 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Farther Finance Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 34.7% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,849 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,115 shares during the period. Farther Finance Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $610,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Hormel Foods by 2.7% during the first quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,718 shares of the company’s stock worth $548,000 after buying an additional 458 shares during the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $585,000. Davis Capital Management increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Davis Capital Management now owns 20,313 shares of the company’s stock worth $628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659 shares during the last quarter. Riverview Trust Co raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 183.8% in the 1st quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,572 shares of the company’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Finally, Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 38.9% during the 1st quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 11,400 shares of the company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 3,191 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.6%

HRL stock opened at $30.55 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $33.80. The company has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 85.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.