Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Has $1.32 Million Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 199.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,760 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 28,457 shares during the period. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,323,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Norges Bank bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth about $102,598,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 496.3% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 466.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company's stock valued at $91,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,087 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 33.9% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $30.50. The company had a trading volume of 3,848,825 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,676,191. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The company has a market capitalization of $16.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.10. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $33.80.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 10.20%. Hormel Foods's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 85.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, June 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $35.00 target price for the company. 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.