Avanza Fonder AB Makes New $919,000 Investment in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 29,285 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $919,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at about $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on HRL. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.00.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:HRL traded up $0.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $29.93. The stock had a trading volume of 2,515,109 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,918,130. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $36.86. 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 company has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.26. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $31.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $31.47.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.88%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is 77.40%.

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.