WealthPLAN Partners LLC Trims Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

WealthPLAN Partners LLC reduced its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 156,217 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,248 shares during the quarter. WealthPLAN Partners LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $4,901,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. PUREfi Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth $251,000. G&S Capital LLC increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. G&S Capital LLC now owns 15,053 shares of the company’s stock worth $472,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth $16,612,000. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 43.1% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,215 shares of the company’s stock worth $319,000 after purchasing an additional 3,075 shares during the period. Finally, Vest Financial LLC increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,825,660 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,271,000 after purchasing an additional 264,813 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.3 %

Hormel Foods stock opened at $28.47 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.27 and a 1-year high of $36.86. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $30.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $31.30.

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

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. 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 a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Hormel Foods 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.