Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Makes New Investment in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 57,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,415,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HRL. State Street Corp increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,338,645 shares of the company’s stock valued at $701,098,000 after purchasing an additional 269,941 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth about $489,092,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,352,000 after buying an additional 4,526,167 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,080,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,805,000 after buying an additional 63,583 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,849,174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $155,152,000 after buying an additional 134,983 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $495,102.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,002 shares in the company, valued at approximately $784,369.02. This trade represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on HRL. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.57.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL stock opened at $23.76 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $13.08 billion, a PE ratio of 27.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a current ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $24.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.42. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.70 and a 12-month high of $29.10.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.