Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Purchased by WCM Investment Management LLC

WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 43.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 10,215 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,075 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $319,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Truist Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 110.8% during the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 19,571 shares during the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter worth about $272,000. 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 valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 257.6% in the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 52,623 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,668,000 after buying an additional 37,908 shares during the period. Finally, Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 8.2% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 120,651 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,825,000 after acquiring an additional 9,127 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HRL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BNP Paribas started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.17.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares in the company, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.2 %

HRL stock opened at $28.86 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $31.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.38. The company has a market cap of $15.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.76, a PEG ratio of 2.74 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 company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.42 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.02%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.