Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lessened its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 44.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,767 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,837 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $150,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of HRL. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 56.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock worth $70,934,000 after acquiring an additional 802,816 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,659,000 after acquiring an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $16,612,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 328.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 514,116 shares of the company’s stock valued at $16,297,000 after buying an additional 394,068 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vest Financial LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,825,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,271,000 after buying an additional 264,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on HRL. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Citigroup decreased 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $28.56 on Thursday. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.03 and a one year high of $36.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.20. The stock has a market cap of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased 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 owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by 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.