MQS Management LLC Acquires Shares of 8,808 Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 183.8% in the 1st quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,572 shares of the company's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 1,018 shares in the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. YANKCOM Partnership boosted 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 boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 34.4% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 3,187 shares of the company's stock valued at $99,000 after purchasing an additional 816 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 price objective for the company. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price objective for the company 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 upped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Four equities research 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $32.86.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.5%

NYSE:HRL traded down $0.44 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $29.25. 1,086,922 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,145,383. The company has a fifty day moving average of $30.31 and a 200 day moving average of $30.00. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $33.80. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.50, a PEG ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.33.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting 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 analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.38 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.