Palisade Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Palisade Asset Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 18.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 205,281 shares of the company’s stock after selling 45,790 shares during the period. Palisade Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $6,592,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,014,570 shares of the company’s stock valued at $228,734,000 after acquiring an additional 165,563 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,059,847 shares of the company’s stock valued at $116,366,000 after acquiring an additional 172,110 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,510,004 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,455,000 after acquiring an additional 167,920 shares during the period. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,959,077 shares of the company’s stock valued at $74,504,000 after acquiring an additional 428,100 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,775,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,020,000 after buying an additional 81,970 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL traded down $0.19 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $35.12. 1,196,474 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,975,328. The company’s 50-day moving average is $34.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 0.79. The company has a market capitalization of $19.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.19, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.28. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $41.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. The business’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 77.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.