Stephens Inc. AR Has $391,000 Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Stephens Inc. AR reduced its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 87.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,451 shares of the company’s stock after selling 89,335 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Sanctuary Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $272,000. Creative Planning boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 120,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,825,000 after acquiring an additional 9,127 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth about $279,000. Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 25.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the company’s stock worth $497,000 after acquiring an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,865 shares of the company’s stock worth $376,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

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

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $28.47 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $30.75 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.27 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 EPS. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.08%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup decreased their target price 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. Finally, 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. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Company 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.