Advisors Preferred LLC Takes Position in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Advisors Preferred LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 291,524 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,961,000. Hormel Foods makes up about 1.2% of Advisors Preferred LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Advisors Preferred LLC owned about 0.05% of Hormel Foods as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,241,219 shares of the company's stock worth $1,168,257,000 after acquiring an additional 268,328 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 7,843,207 shares of the company's stock worth $246,041,000 after buying an additional 533,657 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,461,100 shares of the company's stock worth $233,459,000 after buying an additional 98,442 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,072,682 shares of the company's stock worth $190,500,000 after buying an additional 413,669 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 4,488,678 shares of the company's stock worth $140,810,000 after buying an additional 261,742 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.86.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.2%

Hormel Foods stock traded down $0.06 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $29.25. The stock had a trading volume of 1,919,062 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,248,911. The company has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $30.26 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.92. Hormel Foods Corporation has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $33.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.17.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Hormel Foods's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.29%.

Hormel Foods Company 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.