Lifeworks Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Lifeworks Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 26,611 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $603,000.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.0% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,338,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,098,000 after purchasing an additional 269,941 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,352,000 after purchasing an additional 4,526,167 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,080,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,805,000 after purchasing an additional 63,583 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,714,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,139,000 after purchasing an additional 1,557,595 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,618,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,864,000 after buying an additional 849,357 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HRL. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.00.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL stock opened at $24.45 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.70 and a 52 week high of $30.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $23.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $23.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.8%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.65%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 32,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,369.02. The trade was a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.