Financial Counselors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 4.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing 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 period. Financial Counselors Inc. owned about 0.07% of Hormel Foods worth $11,924,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $48,000. Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 3.3%

Hormel Foods stock traded down $1.03 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.51. 8,333,504 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,733,099. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $33.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 0.33. The business's 50-day moving average price is $30.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.05. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company's quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hormel Foods Company 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.