Grandfield & Dodd LLC Buys Shares of 1,005,902 Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Grandfield & Dodd LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 1,005,902 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,967,000. Hormel Foods accounts for approximately 1.3% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,042,541 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,408,000 after purchasing an additional 171,137 shares during the period. Masters Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at approximately $19,252,000. Fidelity National Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $15,642,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 465,204 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,025,000 after buying an additional 81,420 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,615,614 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,290,000 after buying an additional 138,439 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price target on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 32,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,369.02. This represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 2.0%

HRL opened at $24.04 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.94. The company has a market capitalization of $13.23 billion, a PE ratio of 28.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $24.93 and its 200-day moving average is $23.45. Hormel Foods Corporation has a one year low of $19.70 and a one year high of $29.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.