White Pine Capital LLC Decreases Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

White Pine Capital LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 34,599 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,732 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 100.5% during the 4th quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 516.5% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock worth $82,000 after buying an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 23.7% in the 3rd quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL stock traded up $0.05 during trading on Friday, hitting $35.32. The company had a trading volume of 2,088,175 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,357,894. The firm has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.27. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $41.73. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $33.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.41. 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 released its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 77.40%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hormel Foods 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.