SJS Investment Consulting Inc. Increases Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

SJS Investment Consulting Inc. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 464,890 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,107 shares during the quarter. Hormel Foods accounts for about 2.5% of SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. SJS Investment Consulting Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $14,584,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,659,000 after purchasing an additional 617,308 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,362,658 shares of the company’s stock worth $232,646,000 after buying an additional 120,212 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 3,267,186 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,570,000 after buying an additional 162,577 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,089,868 shares of the company’s stock valued at $94,210,000 after acquiring an additional 412,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 56.0% during 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. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $30.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $31.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.47.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid 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 dividend yield of 3.76%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Citigroup dropped their price target 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. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Two investment 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

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.