Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Clarity Asset Management Inc.

Clarity Asset Management Inc. cut its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 22.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,353 shares of the company’s stock after selling 387 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $43,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 2.2 %

HRL stock opened at $33.19 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company has a fifty day moving average of $31.12 and a 200-day moving average of $31.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HRL. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.29.

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338 in the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.