Federated Hermes Inc. Increases Stock Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2,319.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 49,357 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 47,317 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,548,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,905 shares of the company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 626,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,649,000 after purchasing an additional 20,514 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 58.9% during the fourth quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 313,619 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,838,000 after purchasing an additional 116,304 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 862,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,051,000 after purchasing an additional 26,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, DnB Asset Management AS increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 71,010 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,228,000 after buying an additional 9,120 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of Hormel Foods 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 sale, the director now 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $30.55 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $29.50 and a 200-day moving average of $30.53. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.67%.

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.