Raymond James Financial Inc. Invests $7.89 Million in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 251,547 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,891,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,087 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 56.0% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,934,000 after acquiring an additional 802,816 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock valued at $794,659,000 after acquiring an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $16,612,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,825,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,271,000 after acquiring an additional 264,813 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $30.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $29.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $30.75. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $27.59 and a one year high of $36.86. The firm has a market cap of $16.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in 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. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.80.

About Hormel Foods

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.