Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Decreases Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lessened its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 3.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,870 shares of the company’s stock after selling 697 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $697,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 31,967 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after purchasing an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth $2,694,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 21.8% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 571,252 shares of the company’s stock worth $19,931,000 after acquiring an additional 102,141 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $2,231,000. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at about $756,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $31.35 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $32.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $32.74. The stock has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a PE ratio of 22.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $38.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 80.71%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 in the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $32.17.

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.