Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Stake Increased by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 24.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,883,924 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 368,028 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. owned approximately 0.34% of Hormel Foods worth $59,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 690 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 91.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 729 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $48,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $29.23 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $30.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $27.59 and a 12-month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.97%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 84.67%.

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.