KBC Group NV Lowers Stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

KBC Group NV lowered its position in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 38.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 26,219 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,166 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $102,598,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 496.3% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,185,600 shares of the company's stock worth $68,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819,100 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 466.5% during the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,053,160 shares of the company's stock worth $64,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690,746 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company's stock worth $137,227,000 after purchasing an additional 1,107,270 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $31.05. The stock had a trading volume of 1,769,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,691,452. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $30.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.04. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12-month low of $27.59 and a 12-month high of $33.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 2.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $17.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.33.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on HRL. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 price objective for the company. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.