Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Sold by BNP Paribas Financial Markets

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 416,016 shares of the company's stock after selling 16,141 shares during the quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets owned about 0.08% of Hormel Foods worth $13,188,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 647 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at $39,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,313,850.95. This represents a 41.61 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This represents a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded down $0.29 during trading on Monday, reaching $32.14. 3,018,176 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,589,914. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.26. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $31.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.58. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Hormel Foods's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.61%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.69%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note 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, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.29.

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.