Brooklyn Investment Group Buys New Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 1,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock worth $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of HRL opened at $32.43 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company’s fifty day moving average is $31.01 and its 200 day moving average is $31.61. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 79.58%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.29.

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.