8,209 Shares in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Bought by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on HRL. Citigroup lowered their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Stephens assumed 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 initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $31.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $31.47. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.76%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

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.