Allstate Corp Takes $285,000 Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,076 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $285,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 9,905 shares of the company's stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 934 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 626,360 shares of the company's stock valued at $19,649,000 after purchasing an additional 20,514 shares during the last quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Liberty One Investment Management LLC now owns 862,308 shares of the company's stock worth $27,051,000 after buying an additional 26,121 shares in the last quarter. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its stake in Hormel Foods by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 71,010 shares of the company's stock worth $2,228,000 after buying an additional 9,120 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 929,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,170,000 after buying an additional 111,454 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE HRL traded down $0.71 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $30.03. 4,345,223 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,547,646. The company's 50-day moving average is $29.52 and its 200-day moving average is $30.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $27.59 and a 52-week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 84.67%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reiterated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.80.

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.