Arizona State Retirement System Buys 1,201 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 1.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 87,600 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,201 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,748,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,944,000 after buying an additional 34,589 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,905 shares of the company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 626,360 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,649,000 after purchasing an additional 20,514 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.1% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the period. Finally, Grandfield & Dodd LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE HRL opened at $29.92 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $16.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $27.59 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company’s 50 day moving average is $29.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $30.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.80.

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.