West Family Investments Inc. Acquires Shares of 7,986 Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

West Family Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 7,986 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $242,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $101,201,000. Scotia Capital Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at about $399,000. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 8.5% during the 2nd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 45,813 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,386,000 after buying an additional 3,578 shares during the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 322,724 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,762,000 after buying an additional 2,290 shares during the last quarter. Finally, J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. now owns 42,482 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,285,000 after buying an additional 1,028 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $23.29 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $23.28 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.92. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.81 billion, a PE ratio of 17.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.95 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 2.47 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Hormel Foods Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $21.03 and a fifty-two week high of $33.80.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 28th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.98 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.06% and a net margin of 6.26%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.37 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 12th will be paid a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 12th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.0%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have issued reports on HRL. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $27.00 target price on Hormel Foods and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on Hormel Foods from $30.00 to $27.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 21st. Zacks Research lowered Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 29th. Finally, Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $34.00 price objective (down previously from $36.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $28.86.

Hormel Foods Company 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.