Edgestream Partners L.P. Buys 62,560 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Edgestream Partners L.P. lifted its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 248.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,779 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 62,560 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P.'s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $2,783,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.9 %

Hormel Foods stock traded down $0.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $32.15. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,020,292 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,589,920. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $31.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a market capitalization of $17.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. Hormel Foods's quarterly revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share 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 paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.61%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.69%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This trade represents a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This trade 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 worth $2,288,338. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on HRL. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.29.

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.