Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Buys 51,860 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,898,796 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,860 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 0.35% of Hormel Foods worth $59,565,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 690 shares during the period. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup dropped their price target 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 restated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 2.3 %

Shares of HRL opened at $29.23 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

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.