North Star Investment Management Corp. Has $1.03 Million Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

North Star Investment Management Corp. lessened its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 33,416 shares of the company’s stock after selling 694 shares during the period. North Star Investment Management Corp.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,034,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Exeter Financial LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.3% in the first quarter. Exeter Financial LLC now owns 16,809 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 10,038 shares of the company’s stock valued at $315,000 after acquiring an additional 389 shares during the period. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc. now owns 17,718 shares of the company’s stock valued at $548,000 after buying an additional 458 shares in the last quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. ICW Investment Advisors LLC now owns 44,473 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,395,000 after buying an additional 459 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 16.5% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 3,312 shares of the company’s stock valued at $104,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.6%

HRL stock opened at $30.55 on Monday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $33.80. The stock has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50 day moving average is $30.06 and its 200 day moving average is $30.27.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.35. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.38 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Monday, July 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 85.29%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.50.

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.