MCF Advisors LLC Purchases 9,684 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

MCF Advisors LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 54.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 27,500 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 9,684 shares during the quarter. MCF Advisors LLC's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $863,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of HRL. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company's stock valued at $43,000 after acquiring an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 47.5% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after acquiring an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE HRL traded down $0.42 on Wednesday, hitting $30.44. 814,621 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,361,656. The business's fifty day moving average is $31.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $31.47. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. Hormel Foods's revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Hormel Foods from $35.00 to $36.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.