Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Kennebec Savings Bank

Kennebec Savings Bank trimmed its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 387 shares during the quarter. Kennebec Savings Bank’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $117,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on HRL. BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup lowered 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 note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of HRL opened at $30.44 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.71 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.47. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for 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 was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.42 EPS. Analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current 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. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Hormel Foods

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.