Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP Purchases 1,542 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP lifted its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 10.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 16,230 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,542 shares during the quarter. Cognios Beta Neutral Large Cap Fund LP’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $521,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in HRL. AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 67,160 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,554,000 after purchasing an additional 6,374 shares during the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 417.6% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,673 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 4,577 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 55.0% during the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 21,394 shares of the company’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 7,587 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 50,603 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,924,000 after purchasing an additional 16,313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JGP Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 10.3% during the 3rd quarter. JGP Wealth Management LLC now owns 131,815 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,013,000 after purchasing an additional 12,266 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded up $0.46 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.60. The stock had a trading volume of 2,207,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,106,181. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.37. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $41.73. The company has a market cap of $19.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.38, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on HRL shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

About Hormel Foods

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.