Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Invests $1.87 Million in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC has purchased 60,506 shares of Hormel Foods Corporation, valued at approximately $1.87 million, as reported in their Form 13F filing with the SEC.
• Several institutional investors, including MJT & Associates and MassMutual Private Wealth, have recently increased their stakes in Hormel Foods, indicating strong interest as institutional ownership now stands at 40.99%.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $32.86 for Hormel Foods, with ratings varying from hold to buy, reflecting mixed outlooks on the stock's performance.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 60,506 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,872,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 9,725.4% in the first quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,335,797 shares of the company's stock worth $72,270,000 after buying an additional 2,312,024 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 496.3% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,185,600 shares of the company's stock worth $68,562,000 after buying an additional 1,819,100 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 466.5% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,053,160 shares of the company's stock worth $64,408,000 after buying an additional 1,690,746 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 33.9% in the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company's stock worth $137,227,000 after buying an additional 1,107,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth approximately $23,427,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL stock traded up $0.3150 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.2250. 2,258,494 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,290,349. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $33.80. The stock has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.49, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock's 50-day moving average is $29.50 and its 200 day moving average is $29.68.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.580-1.680 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of several analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

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.