Weiss Asset Management LP Buys New Position in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 36,750 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $832,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Strive Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Motiv8 Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 354.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 1,314 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Finally, Ankerstar Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $35,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Stephens restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, July 9th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. 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. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.14.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $495,102.00. Following 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $26.06 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.70 and a fifty-two week high of $29.34. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $24.13 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $23.35. 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 firm has a market cap of $14.34 billion, a PE ratio of 30.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.35 EPS. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

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 paid a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 137.65%.

About Hormel Foods

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.