Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D reduced its stake in Hormel Foods Corporation by 10.2%, holding 104,211 shares valued at $3.22 million after selling 11,832 shares in the first quarter.
• Hormel Foods reported earnings of $0.35 per share for the last quarter, matching analysts' expectations, while revenue saw a slight increase of 0.3% year-over-year.
• Institutional investors currently own nearly 41% of Hormel Foods, with several hedge funds increasing their stakes in the company during the first quarter.

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 10.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 104,211 shares of the company's stock after selling 11,832 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,224,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at $1,283,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 12.0% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 452,925 shares of the company's stock valued at $14,014,000 after purchasing an additional 48,657 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 180.4% in the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 89,025 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,737,000 after purchasing an additional 57,280 shares during the period. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at $548,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 22.2% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,150,394 shares of the company's stock valued at $35,593,000 after purchasing an additional 208,883 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on HRL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started 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 on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $30.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $29.00 to $34.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 20th. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $33.00.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL stock traded down $0.11 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $28.77. 2,965,864 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,288,859. The company has a market cap of $15.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.31. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $33.80. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $29.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $29.68. 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 (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for 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 firm's revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.38 earnings per share. Hormel Foods has set its FY 2025 guidance at 1.580-1.680 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.