Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC trimmed its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 176,809 shares of the company's stock after selling 152,731 shares during the period. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $5,391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 154,437 shares of the company's stock valued at $4,959,000 after purchasing an additional 11,026 shares during the period. Focus Financial Network Inc. ADV bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $1,021,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $1,181,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 31,967 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,026,000 after acquiring an additional 1,443 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $2,694,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded up $0.36 on Friday, reaching $32.55. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,679,910 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,944,650. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52-week low of $28.51 and a 52-week high of $40.12. The company has a market cap of $17.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.25, a PEG ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $31.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.00 and a current ratio of 1.73.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 30th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.02. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.37% and a return on equity of 11.31%. The business had revenue of $2.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.97 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.40 EPS. The business's revenue was down 2.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.6 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HRL shares. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and set a $32.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Friday, May 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Hormel Foods from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $28.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $32.33.

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.