Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Buys 9,837 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Hormel Foods Corporation by 8.3% during the first quarter, bringing its total ownership to 127,736 shares valued at approximately $3.95 million.
• Hormel Foods recently reported quarterly earnings, meeting expectations with $0.35 EPS and a revenue of $2.90 billion, showing a year-over-year revenue increase of 0.3%.
• The company declared a $0.29 per share quarterly dividend, representing a 4.1% yield, with the payout ratio currently at 85.29%.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 8.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 127,736 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 9,837 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,952,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Accretive Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the first quarter worth approximately $2,374,000. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,528 shares of the company's stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 714 shares during the last quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $226,000. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 9,725.4% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,335,797 shares of the company's stock worth $72,270,000 after acquiring an additional 2,312,024 shares during the period. Finally, Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 16.7% during the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 83,606 shares of the company's stock worth $2,587,000 after acquiring an additional 11,947 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on HRL shares. BNP Paribas raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane raised 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 report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.86.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.2%

NYSE HRL traded up $0.05 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $28.14. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,624,186 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,273,858. 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 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $33.80. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.12 and a 200-day simple moving average of $29.86. The stock has a market cap of $15.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.31.

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

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

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.