The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Grows Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 0.9% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 204,561 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 1,835 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $6,237,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth about $31,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth about $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth approximately $42,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $32.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $31.35 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $38.27. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.39, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.25. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $32.01 and its 200 day moving average is $32.74.

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

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 80.71%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.