Edgestream Partners L.P. Trims Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lowered its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 59.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,219 shares of the company’s stock after selling 37,402 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $769,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 9.9% in the first quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 5,638,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $196,729,000 after acquiring an additional 505,942 shares in the last quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Mairs & Power Inc. now owns 5,459,039 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,290,000 after buying an additional 108,944 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 24.0% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,976,257 shares of the company’s stock worth $90,738,000 after buying an additional 575,378 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 97.8% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,900,989 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,151,000 after buying an additional 1,434,437 shares during the period. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,654,609 shares of the company’s stock valued at $85,239,000 after acquiring an additional 144,605 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.1 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $31.77 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $39.58. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $32.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $32.93. The company has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.25.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on HRL shares. Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $32.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Hormel Foods from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research report on Friday, May 31st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.33.

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.