Empowered Funds LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Empowered Funds LLC reduced its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,507 shares of the company’s stock after selling 29,286 shares during the quarter. Empowered Funds LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,773,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 47.5% during the third 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 last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL stock opened at $28.47 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 1 year low of $28.27 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The firm has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $30.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $31.27.

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

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on HRL shares. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

About Hormel Foods

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.