Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL Shares Sold by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC cut its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 91.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 61,097 shares of the company’s stock after selling 628,544 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,384,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its position in Hormel Foods by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 34,046 shares of the company’s stock valued at $771,000 after purchasing an additional 1,064 shares during the last quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 28.5% during the 1st quarter. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. now owns 63,592 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,440,000 after purchasing an additional 14,092 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp grew its position in Hormel Foods by 38.7% during the 1st quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 27,408 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after purchasing an additional 7,642 shares during the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at $454,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 342,331 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,754,000 after purchasing an additional 3,806 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HRL. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price target on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price objective (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $495,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,002 shares in the company, valued at $784,369.02. This trade represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $25.08 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.94. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1 year low of $19.70 and a 1 year high of $29.78. The company’s fifty day moving average is $23.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $23.29.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The business’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 137.65%.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.