Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lowered its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 116,043 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,207 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,640,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Greenleaf Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.9 %

HRL opened at $28.56 on Thursday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.20. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.03 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings results 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). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup dropped their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

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.