Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Acquires 53,116 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Hormel Foods Corporation by 31.1%, owning 224,041 shares valued at approximately $6.93 million.
• Analysts have upgraded Hormel Foods, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $32.86, indicating positive sentiment towards the stock.
• Hormel Foods also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.29 per share, which reflects an annualized yield of 3.97%.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 31.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 224,041 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 53,116 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $6,932,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth $38,000. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $48,000. Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 183.8% in the first 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 period. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $52,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 18.5% in the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 3,081 shares of the company's stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded down $0.41 on Wednesday, reaching $28.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,905,531 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,152,680. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $33.80. The company has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $29.88. 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 results on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.38 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 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.