Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Acquired by Citigroup Inc.

Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 13.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 452,510 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc. owned approximately 0.08% of Hormel Foods worth $14,345,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 20.8% during the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 18,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after acquiring an additional 3,236 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,548,000 after acquiring an additional 66,261 shares during the period. Grandfield & Dodd LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,302,000 after acquiring an additional 26,390 shares during the period. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth about $2,177,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This trade represents a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.9 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $31.91 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $31.00 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.50 billion, a PE ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 79.58%.

Hormel Foods 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.