Exeter Financial LLC Acquires 6,219 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Exeter Financial LLC increased its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 99.3% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 12,482 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,219 shares during the quarter. Exeter Financial LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $439,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 100.5% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 31st. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.67.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $30.15. 560,315 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,890,629. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. 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 $16.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $33.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.70.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.97 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 80.71%.

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.