Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Holdings Cut by Epiq Partners LLC

Epiq Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 26.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 301,770 shares of the company's stock after selling 105,905 shares during the period. Hormel Foods comprises approximately 4.9% of Epiq Partners LLC's holdings, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Epiq Partners LLC owned 0.05% of Hormel Foods worth $9,337,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Fairway Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 86.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of HRL traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $30.67. The company had a trading volume of 2,049,695 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,627,624. The stock has a market cap of $16.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.29. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $33.80. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

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 for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. Hormel Foods's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. 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. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.78%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 85.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods 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.