Stephens Inc. AR Sells 89,335 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Stephens Inc. AR trimmed its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 87.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,451 shares of the company's stock after selling 89,335 shares during the quarter. Stephens Inc. AR's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $391,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Greenleaf Trust grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company's stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% during the third quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company's stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company's stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% in the 4th quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company's stock valued at $289,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Stephens restated an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE:HRL traded up $0.27 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $28.56. The stock had a trading volume of 2,038,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,820,461. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.03 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $30.55 and its 200 day moving average is $31.20. The stock has a market cap of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.26.

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). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. The business's revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.06%. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is 79.45%.

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.