Vest Financial LLC Grows Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Vest Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,560,847 shares of the company's stock after acquiring an additional 322,645 shares during the quarter. Vest Financial LLC owned 0.28% of Hormel Foods worth $49,479,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.9% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 164,216 shares of the company's stock worth $5,206,000 after acquiring an additional 7,663 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 212.9% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,893 shares of the company's stock worth $119,000 after purchasing an additional 2,649 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter. V Square Quantitative Management LLC now owns 11,865 shares of the company's stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during the period. Ellsworth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 25.6% during the third quarter. Ellsworth Advisors LLC now owns 15,692 shares of the company's stock worth $497,000 after purchasing an additional 3,197 shares in the last quarter. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $279,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on HRL. Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $32.17.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL traded up $0.63 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $32.19. 2,855,583 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,636,516. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $31.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.48. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. The company has a market cap of $17.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.25.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.282 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.50%. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 80.71%.

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.