Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL Shares Bought by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its Hormel Foods stake by 186.5% in the third quarter, purchasing 212,041 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 325,712 shares worth approximately $6.5 million.
• Several other institutional investors also initiated or expanded positions, with institutional ownership reaching 40.99%. Hormel’s chairman separately bought 10,000 shares, while insiders own 0.58% of the company.
• Hormel reported quarterly EPS of $0.37, above estimates, but revenue fell 2.4% year over year. The company declared a $0.2925 quarterly dividend, equivalent to a 5.7% yield, while analysts maintained a consensus “Hold” rating with a $25.43 average price target.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 186.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 325,712 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 212,041 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.06% of Hormel Foods worth $6,495,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $5,554,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,050,000. Masters Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $19,252,000. Fidelity National Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $16,381,000. Finally, Core Capital Management & Research inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $7,729,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Chairman William A. Newlands purchased 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $20.10 per share, with a total value of $201,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman directly owned 76,375 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,535,137.50. This represents a 15.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.8%

HRL opened at $20.50 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1-year low of $18.96 and a 1-year high of $26.60. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $21.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $22.53. The company has a current ratio of 1.88, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.30.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The business's revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.48 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.7%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 185.71%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Stephens set a $23.00 target price on Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, August 28th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $28.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 14th. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities 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 MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $25.43.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation NYSE: HRL is a global food company headquartered in Austin, Minnesota. Founded in 1891 by George A. Hormel, the company began as a meat-processing business and has expanded into a broad portfolio of branded food products sold through retail, foodservice and international channels.

Its products include refrigerated and shelf-stable meats, meals, snacks and other prepared foods. Hormel Foods markets products under well-known brands such as Hormel, SPAM, Jennie-O, Applegate, Columbus, Skippy and Planters, although its brand portfolio and business operations may evolve over time.

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