Merit Financial Group LLC Takes Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Merit Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 8,209 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of HRL. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 202.4% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 94,599 shares of the company's stock worth $2,884,000 after purchasing an additional 63,313 shares during the period. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 14.9% during the second quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 7,238 shares of the company's stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 81.0% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 36,665 shares of the company's stock worth $1,118,000 after buying an additional 16,409 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 23.7% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 260,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,947,000 after acquiring an additional 49,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.7% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 82,282 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,509,000 after acquiring an additional 7,285 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.1 %

HRL traded up $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $30.89. The company had a trading volume of 1,518,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,913,106. The company has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $31.32 and its 200 day moving average price is $31.48.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued 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). The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.67 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. 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 3.76%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.45%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of 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 report on Monday, October 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.17.

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken acquired 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.