Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Stake Reduced by BTS Asset Management Inc.

BTS Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 58.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,036 shares of the company's stock after selling 9,892 shares during the period. BTS Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $218,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 183.8% during the first quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,572 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL traded down $0.50 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.55. The company had a trading volume of 1,980,151 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,633,132. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.04 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $30.30. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $27.59 and a twelve month high of $33.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.33.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. Hormel Foods's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. Bank of America raised shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas upgraded Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.