Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL Stock Sold by Vest Financial LLC

Key Points

• Vest Financial reduced its Hormel Foods stake by 14.9% in the third quarter, selling 341,315 shares and retaining approximately 0.35% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own about 40.99% of HRL.
• Analysts remain cautious, with a consensus “Hold” rating and an average price target of $25.43. Hormel’s latest quarter beat earnings expectations, but revenue declined 2.4% year over year.
• Hormel announced a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 per share, or $1.17 annualized, representing a 5.7% yield; Chairman William Newlands also bought 10,000 shares at $20.10 each.

Vest Financial LLC cut its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 14.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,943,788 shares of the company's stock after selling 341,315 shares during the period. Vest Financial LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Hormel Foods worth $38,759,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at $489,092,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,849,174 shares of the company's stock valued at $155,152,000 after buying an additional 134,983 shares during the period. Bank of America Corp DE raised its position in Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 2,405,895 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,494,000 after buying an additional 79,509 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the first quarter valued at $44,733,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 11.8% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 1,504,188 shares of the company's stock worth $34,070,000 after acquiring an additional 159,043 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on HRL. Piper Sandler restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, October 6th. Stephens set a $23.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, August 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. BNP Paribas Exane reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $26.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $25.43.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, Chairman William A. Newlands acquired 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Monday, October 5th. The shares were bought at an average price of $20.10 per share, with a total value of $201,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chairman owned 76,375 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,137.50. This trade represents a 15.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL opened at $20.43 on Thursday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12-month low of $18.96 and a 12-month high of $26.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.92, a current ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.30. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $21.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.51.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.03 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 2.82%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.48 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.7%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 185.71%.

About Hormel Foods

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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