Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Position in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 63.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 83,141 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 32,140 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,572,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $285,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 67.1% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company's stock worth $91,810,000 after buying an additional 1,175,087 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $1,330,000. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 34.5% in the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 74,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,352,000 after acquiring an additional 19,246 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 626,360 shares of the company's stock worth $19,649,000 after buying an additional 20,514 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.86.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $30.69. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,548,050 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,690,947. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $33.80. The stock has a market cap of $16.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.57, a P/E/G ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.33. The business's 50-day moving average price is $30.11 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. 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.