Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. Makes New Investment in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Parallax Volatility Advisers L.P. bought a new stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 56,743 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,780,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 86.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 91.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on HRL. Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Bank of America raised shares of Hormel Foods from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL traded up $0.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $29.90. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,311,975 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,592,678. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $29.83 and its 200-day moving average is $30.45. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The firm has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.