Van ECK Associates Corp Takes $16.61 Million Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 529,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $16,612,000. Van ECK Associates Corp owned 0.10% of Hormel Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crews Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Hormel Foods by 47.5% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 1,981 shares of the company's stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 638 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of HRL traded up $0.27 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $28.56. 2,650,011 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,853,517. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.20. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.03 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $15.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.56, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.26.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the business earned $0.42 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.06%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date was Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods's payout ratio is presently 79.45%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. Stephens reaffirmed an "equal weight" rating and issued a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Hormel Foods from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.17.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. The trade was a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.72% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods 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.