Kestra Investment Management LLC Acquires New Shares in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,338 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $418,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on HRL shares. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 2.7 %

Hormel Foods stock traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $29.62. 1,469,134 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,790,766. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $30.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $31.17. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.03 and a twelve month high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.27, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.92%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.45%.

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.