Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 22,415 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 43.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 74,247 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 22,415 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,843,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $701,098,000 after buying an additional 269,941 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 66.5% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,352,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526,167 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 63,583 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,849,174 shares of the company’s stock worth $155,152,000 after acquiring an additional 134,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,618,755 shares of the company’s stock valued at $156,864,000 after acquiring an additional 849,357 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, July 17th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. 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 report on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price target on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.14.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $784,369.02. This trade represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.6%

HRL opened at $24.44 on Thursday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.70 and a fifty-two week high of $29.34. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.75, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.34. The company’s 50-day moving average is $24.88 and its 200 day moving average is $23.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 0.97.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a $0.2925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.