Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,890,569 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 82.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 409,772 shares of the company's stock after selling 1,890,569 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.07% of Hormel Foods worth $12,990,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 818,417 shares of the company's stock worth $25,944,000 after buying an additional 34,589 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 13.1% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company's stock worth $14,345,000 after purchasing an additional 52,457 shares during the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the third quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company's stock worth $29,302,000 after purchasing an additional 26,390 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company's stock valued at $58,548,000 after purchasing an additional 66,261 shares during the period. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,025,000. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

HRL has been the topic of a number of research reports. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price objective on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $31.29.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $31.85. The stock had a trading volume of 1,718,625 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,029. The company has a market capitalization of $17.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $31.37 and a 200-day moving average of $31.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.64%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

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.