Nisa Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 2,074 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,127 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,074 shares during the period. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $631,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on HRL. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $30.46 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $31.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.49. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $16.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. Analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the acquisition, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.