Neo Ivy Capital Management Takes Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 31,632 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $992,000.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after acquiring an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company's stock valued at $422,000 after acquiring an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the company's stock worth $315,000 after buying an additional 389 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 15.8% during the 4th quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 3,097 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,000 after buying an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:HRL traded down $0.25 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $29.80. 2,612,017 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,662,297. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $29.91 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $34.55. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $16.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.35. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. Hormel Foods's revenue was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.89%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded 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. Bank of America upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $32.00.

Hormel Foods 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.