Syon Capital LLC Invests $232,000 in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Syon Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 7,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $232,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $620,000. V Square Quantitative Management LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 15.9% during the fourth quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 9,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $291,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the period. Clarity Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,694,000. Finally, Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Bontempo Ohly Capital Mgmt LLC now owns 92,295 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,964,000 after purchasing an additional 5,631 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $32.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, May 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $33.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $28.00 to $29.00 in a report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $30.37 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.91 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.73. The company has a quick ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 1.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $16.65 billion, a PE ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $41.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.97 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 80.71%.

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.