Global X Japan Co. Ltd. Boosts Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 25.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,732 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 3,343 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $525,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of HRL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,944,000 after purchasing an additional 34,589 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock worth $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,302,000 after acquiring an additional 26,390 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,548,000 after buying an additional 66,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.3 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $29.19 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $31.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $31.41. The firm has a market cap of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 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 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $36.86.

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 company had revenue of $3.14 billion for 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on HRL shares. BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Company 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.