Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Sells 43,069 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd reduced its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL - Free Report) by 66.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,394 shares of the company's stock after selling 43,069 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd's holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $678,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company's stock worth $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $42,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

HRL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup reduced 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 report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They set an "underperform" rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $31.29.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL stock traded down $0.10 on Friday, reaching $32.94. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,508,607 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,598,310. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $31.26 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $18.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $36.86.

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). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for 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%. Hormel Foods's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.52%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.45%.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company's stock, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 20.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company 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.