Victory Capital Management Inc. Buys 208,883 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 22.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,150,394 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 208,883 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.21% of Hormel Foods worth $35,593,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $102,598,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 496.3% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,185,600 shares of the company's stock valued at $68,562,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819,100 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 466.5% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,053,160 shares of the company's stock valued at $64,408,000 after acquiring an additional 1,690,746 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 33.9% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company's stock valued at $137,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,270 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 186.0% in the 4th quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,041,356 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,667,000 after acquiring an additional 677,194 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $28.90. 1,924,902 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,770,141. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.33. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $33.80. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $30.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $29.96.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is 85.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed 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 on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $32.86.

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.