Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Chairman Purchases $201,000.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Hormel Foods Chairman William Newlands bought 10,000 shares at an average price of $20.10, investing $201,000 and increasing his ownership by 15.07% to 76,375 shares.
• HRL shares fell 1.0% to $19.88, near their 52-week low, while the company’s latest quarterly earnings of $0.37 per share beat estimates but revenue declined 2.4% year over year.
• Hormel declared a quarterly dividend of $0.2925, equivalent to $1.17 annually and a 5.9% yield. Analysts’ consensus rating remains Hold, with an average price target of $26.14.

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) Chairman William Newlands purchased 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.10 per share, with a total value of $201,000.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 76,375 shares in the company, valued at $1,535,137.50. The trade was a 15.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.0%

HRL stock traded down $0.20 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $19.88. 6,379,343 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,923,812. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.42 and a 1 year high of $26.60. The firm's 50 day moving average is $22.48 and its two-hundred day moving average is $22.75. The stock has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.92.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.03 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.49 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 5.9%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is 185.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on HRL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Hormel Foods from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 28th. Stephens set a $23.00 price objective on Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane decreased their target price on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $26.14.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $489,092,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $51,787,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter worth $44,733,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $36,876,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $32,446,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global food company headquartered in Austin, Minnesota. Founded in 1891 by George A. Hormel, the company began as a meat processor and has expanded into a broad portfolio of branded food products sold through retail, foodservice and international channels.

Its products include refrigerated and shelf-stable meat, deli meats, bacon, pepperoni, sausages, canned foods, nut products and other prepared foods. Key brands include Hormel, SPAM, Jennie-O, Applegate, Columbus and Planters.

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