Grandfield & Dodd LLC Raises Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 762,791 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,349 shares during the period. Hormel Foods makes up approximately 1.7% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $24,493,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the first quarter worth about $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 62.9% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the last quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 24.4% during the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the company’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 387.0% during the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,841 shares of the company’s stock worth $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 61.5% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 in the last three months. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:HRL traded up $0.36 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $34.74. The company had a trading volume of 2,359,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,454,704. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $41.73. The firm has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a PE ratio of 23.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.27. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $33.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $32.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.79.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The company had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.40 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 77.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Citigroup initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.00.

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.