Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) VP Steven J. Lykken Buys 4,904 Shares

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of HRL stock traded up $0.38 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $33.56. 2,392,671 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,597,984. The business’s fifty day moving average is $31.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.43. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal 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 dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.46%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 79.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.2% during the second quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 31,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $959,000 after purchasing an additional 384 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.0% in the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after purchasing an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 13,690 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after purchasing an additional 459 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.