Weiss Asset Management LP Makes New Investment in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Weiss Asset Management LP purchased a new position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 17,687 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $561,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of HRL. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 34,589 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 452,510 shares of the company's stock worth $14,345,000 after acquiring an additional 52,457 shares in the last quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Grandfield & Dodd LLC now owns 924,365 shares of the company's stock worth $29,302,000 after acquiring an additional 26,390 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,846,936 shares of the company's stock worth $58,548,000 after acquiring an additional 66,261 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,025,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company's stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $33.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,633,097 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,864. The stock has a market cap of $18.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $31.43. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL - Get Free Report) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.42 EPS. Research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.45%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on HRL shares. 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 target for the company. Citigroup cut their price target 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, BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.29.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,276,935. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This represents a 24.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.