Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Purchases Shares of 1,974,985 Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,974,985 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $44,733,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.36% of Hormel Foods as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 66.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,352,000 after buying an additional 4,526,167 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $85,840,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $43,340,000. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Hormel Foods by 126.2% in the third 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $57,220,000 after acquiring an additional 1,581,046 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 32,002 shares in the company, valued at $784,369.02. The trade was a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $25.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.70 and a 12 month high of $29.34. The company has a market cap of $13.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $23.33.

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

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.65%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on HRL. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Stephens reissued an "equal weight" rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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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