Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Acquired by Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC

Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 9.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 56,591 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,749 shares during the period. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,775,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after buying an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.0% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,156 shares of the company’s stock worth $354,000 after acquiring an additional 424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 459 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL 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. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $36.86. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.32 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.47. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.76%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Insider Activity

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 purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the purchase, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the topic of several research reports. 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 on the stock. Citigroup lowered their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Two research analysts have 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.17.

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.