D.A. Davidson & CO. Boosts Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,905 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 934 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Crews Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at about $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 47.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock valued at $63,000 after buying an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on HRL. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Two 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE HRL opened at $28.73 on Thursday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $30.13 and its 200-day moving average price is $31.09. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.03 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost 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 in the company, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.