MQS Management LLC Makes New Investment in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 8,808 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $273,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,000. Riverview Trust Co increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 183.8% during the 1st 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 last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $52,000. YANKCOM Partnership raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 3,081 shares of the company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 34.4% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,187 shares of the company's stock worth $99,000 after buying an additional 816 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 2.3%

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $29.90. 4,335,814 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,765,186. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a current ratio of 2.47. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $33.80. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $30.30 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $30.01. The company has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is 85.29%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

About Hormel Foods

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.