V Square Quantitative Management LLC Acquires 1,700 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 18.8% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,762 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,700 shares during the quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $375,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 774.8% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares in the last quarter. Clarity Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 1,033 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note 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 research note on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:HRL traded down $0.34 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $36.43. 2,305,493 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,888,816. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $41.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $34.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $32.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.95, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.28.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.10%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 77.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,325,231.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.