Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL Shares Bought by Heartland Advisors Inc.

Heartland Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 25.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 107,229 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 21,518 shares during the period. Heartland Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,653,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. MUFG Securities EMEA plc acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Caldwell Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $30,000. Federated Hermes Inc. bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 1,490.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,543 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,446 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 77.4% during the 2nd quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 1,854 shares of the company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 809 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $23.45 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $24.04 and a 200-day moving average of $24.47. The firm has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Corporation has a twelve month low of $21.03 and a twelve month high of $32.07.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.95% and a return on equity of 9.41%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th were issued a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.0%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 12th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 134.48%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler restated a “neutral” rating and set a $26.00 price objective (up from $25.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, December 5th. Barclays set a $30.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, December 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, December 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $27.43.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.