Money Concepts Capital Corp Boosts Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Money Concepts Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,873 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,022 shares during the period. Money Concepts Capital Corp’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,788,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL opened at $29.41 on Wednesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $36.86. The firm has a market cap of $16.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.26. 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 has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.28 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.42.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

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.