D.A. Davidson & CO. Grows Stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 306.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 40,227 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 30,322 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,245,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 183.8% in the 1st quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,572 shares of the company's stock worth $49,000 after acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,187 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after acquiring an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas upgraded 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 objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane upgraded 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.86.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.5%

HRL stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.73. 841,957 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,698,936. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a PE ratio of 23.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.33. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $33.80. The company has a 50-day moving average of $30.21 and a 200-day moving average of $30.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.47.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The company 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 10.20% and a net margin of 6.27%. Hormel Foods's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.38 EPS. Analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.66%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.