Insider Buying: Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Chairman Acquires $201,000.00 in Stock

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) Chairman William Newlands acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 5th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $20.10 per share, for a total transaction of $201,000.00. Following the purchase, the chairman directly owned 76,375 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,535,137.50. This trade represents a 15.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $19.88. 6,379,343 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,923,812. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $22.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $22.75. The company has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 0.92. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12-month low of $19.42 and a 12-month high of $26.60.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 2.82% and a return on equity of 9.91%. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be given a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 5.9%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 185.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane decreased their price target on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $26.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 14th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.14.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Hormel Foods

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SlateStone Wealth LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 17,890 shares of the company’s stock worth $444,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.1% during the second quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,005 shares of the company’s stock worth $968,000 after acquiring an additional 427 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 90.7% during the second quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG now owns 986 shares of the company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 469 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.1% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 23,871 shares of the company’s stock worth $592,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 57.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,455 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 531 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global food company headquartered in Austin, Minnesota. Founded in 1891 by George A. Hormel, the company began as a meat processor and has expanded into a broad portfolio of branded food products sold through retail, foodservice and international channels.

Its products include refrigerated and shelf-stable meat, deli meats, bacon, pepperoni, sausages, canned foods, nut products and other prepared foods. Key brands include Hormel, SPAM, Jennie-O, Applegate, Columbus and Planters.