Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 30,879 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 80.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 69,390 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 30,879 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Citigroup Inc. increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,345,000 after acquiring an additional 52,457 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 20.8% in the third quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 18,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $596,000 after purchasing an additional 3,236 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company’s stock worth $58,548,000 after buying an additional 66,261 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.9% during the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,302,000 after buying an additional 26,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $32.43 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $17.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.26. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.01 and its 200 day moving average is $31.58.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.58%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This represents a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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