First Nebraska Trust Co Invests $13.71 Million in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Key Points

• First Nebraska Trust Co. acquired 552,191 Hormel Foods shares worth approximately $13.71 million, making HRL about 1.1% of its portfolio and its 21st-largest holding.
• Institutional ownership of Hormel Foods stands at 40.99%, with major investors including BlackRock, Invesco and Norges Bank increasing or initiating positions.
• Analysts maintain a broadly neutral outlook: HRL has a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $26.57, while the stock recently traded at $23.90. The company’s latest quarterly earnings of $0.40 per share exceeded estimates.

First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 552,191 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,705,000. Hormel Foods comprises about 1.1% of First Nebraska Trust Co's holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. First Nebraska Trust Co owned approximately 0.10% of Hormel Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HRL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $489,092,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company's stock valued at $280,352,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526,167 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,840,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $44,733,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $43,340,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $784,369.02. This trade represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price objective on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Hormel Foods from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased 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. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $26.57.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $23.90 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.34. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $24.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.45. Hormel Foods Corporation has a one year low of $19.70 and a one year high of $29.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The company's revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

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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