Davis Capital Management Sells 1,346 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Davis Capital Management lessened its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 6.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 18,654 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,346 shares during the period. Davis Capital Management’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $585,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,659,000 after acquiring an additional 617,308 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,362,658 shares of the company’s stock valued at $232,646,000 after acquiring an additional 120,212 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 5.2% in the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,267,186 shares of the company’s stock valued at $103,570,000 after acquiring an additional 162,577 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 15.4% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,210,000 after acquiring an additional 412,313 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,738,000 after acquiring an additional 575,378 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price target on Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup cut their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 3.0 %

NYSE HRL opened at $30.82 on Wednesday. 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 current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market cap of $16.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $31.27 and its 200-day moving average is $31.47.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

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.