Verition Fund Management LLC Acquires New Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Verition Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 75,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,378,000.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 2.8 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $32.88 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $18.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.15, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.54.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.53%. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.58%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.29.

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.