Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Takes $258,000 Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 8,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. PAX Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. PAX Financial Group LLC now owns 13,304 shares of the company’s stock valued at $506,000 after purchasing an additional 354 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 10.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 3,801 shares of the company’s stock valued at $145,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 21.1% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Insight Folios Inc grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Insight Folios Inc now owns 7,013 shares of the company’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% in the third quarter. Cassaday & Co Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,343 shares of the company’s stock valued at $241,000 after purchasing an additional 433 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of HRL stock opened at $35.39 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $28.51 and a fifty-two week high of $41.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $34.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.49. The company has a market cap of $19.38 billion, a PE ratio of 24.24, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.28.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. Hormel Foods’s revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.19%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 77.40%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,381,015. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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