Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Invests $902,000 in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. bought a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 28,449 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $902,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $37,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter valued at about $42,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 774.8% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 1,077 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL traded down $0.10 during trading on Thursday, hitting $31.09. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,381,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,614,376. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $31.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.25. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 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 firm had revenue of $2.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is 80.71%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday. They set an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup raised Hormel Foods from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.57.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total value of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at $1,276,935. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock worth $2,288,338. Insiders own 0.69% of the company's stock.

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.