Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 11,801 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Pacer Advisors Inc. decreased its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 33.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,773 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,801 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $746,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock valued at $306,000 after acquiring an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock worth $211,000 after buying an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.0% in the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 11,156 shares of the company’s stock valued at $354,000 after buying an additional 424 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $29.62 on Tuesday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year 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 $16.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $31.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.46.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly 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). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup dropped 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. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.