Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Increases Stock Position in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Key Points

• Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI sharply increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 252.3% in the first quarter, buying an additional 59,122 shares and bringing its total holding to 82,558 shares worth about $1.87 million.
• Institutional interest remains significant, with hedge funds and other institutional investors owning 40.99% of Hormel Foods; several large funds also recently boosted or initiated positions in the stock.
• Hormel reported solid quarterly results and a dividend, beating EPS estimates with $0.40 per share and posting revenue of $2.97 billion, while also announcing a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 per share, implying a 4.7% annual yield.

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 252.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,558 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 59,122 shares during the period. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,870,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company's stock worth $280,352,000 after buying an additional 4,526,167 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,840,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,340,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,174,553 shares of the company's stock worth $78,538,000 after acquiring an additional 1,770,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 189.7% in the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,414,341 shares of the company's stock worth $57,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581,046 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 32,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at $784,369.02. The trade was a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of HRL stock opened at $25.08 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.70 and a 1 year high of $29.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $23.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $23.29. The company has a market cap of $13.80 billion, a PE ratio of 29.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. Research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on HRL shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 price objective (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.14.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company's portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.

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