Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) Shares Purchased by Financial Counselors Inc.

Financial Counselors Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 385,397 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 14,669 shares during the quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. owned 0.07% of Hormel Foods worth $11,924,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 18.5% during the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 3,081 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on HRL. Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas upgraded Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.86.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $31.57. 1,772,877 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,702,012. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.54 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.17. Hormel Foods Corporation has a twelve month low of $27.59 and a twelve month high of $33.80. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $30.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.06.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 6.27%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.67%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 85.29%.

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.