Gary Bhojwani Sells 20,200 Shares of Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Stock

Key Points

• Director Gary Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of Hormel Foods at $24.51 each, totaling about $495,102 and cutting his ownership by 38.7%.
• Hormel shares rose 1.7% to $24.73, while the company reported quarterly earnings of $0.40 per share, beating estimates and modestly topping revenue expectations.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2925 per share, equal to an annualized yield of 4.7%, though its payout ratio is high at 137.65%.

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) Director Gary Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the sale, the director owned 32,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $784,369.02. The trade was a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.7%

HRL traded up $0.40 during trading on Friday, hitting $24.73. 2,649,886 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,064,101. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.34. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.70 and a 12-month high of $31.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $22.99 and a 200 day moving average of $23.23.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.7%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d+)" rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America raised their price objective on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 target price on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $23.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Strive Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 354.7% in the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,314 shares of the company's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company's portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.

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