Empowered Funds LLC Sells 29,286 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Empowered Funds LLC cut its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 34.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 56,507 shares of the company's stock after selling 29,286 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,773,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vest Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 17.0% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 25.0% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 16,732 shares of the company's stock worth $525,000 after buying an additional 3,343 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 2.2% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 39,291 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,233,000 after acquiring an additional 849 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 929,871 shares of the company's stock valued at $29,170,000 after acquiring an additional 111,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 96.1% in the fourth quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 66,136 shares of the company's stock worth $2,074,000 after acquiring an additional 32,410 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were 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 directly owns 7,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.56. 2,038,613 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,820,461. The company's 50 day moving average is $30.55 and its 200 day moving average is $31.20. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.03 and a one 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 stock has a market capitalization of $15.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.26.

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

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.06%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 79.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.17.

About Hormel Foods

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.