Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Shares Bought by Sigma Planning Corp

Sigma Planning Corp raised its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 10.1% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,804 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,449 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $501,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 41.5% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,843 shares of the company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $298,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Keynote Financial Services LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the third quarter. Keynote Financial Services LLC now owns 13,202 shares of the company’s stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 472 shares during the period. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $91,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $32.70, for a total transaction of $327,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 39,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,276,935. This represents a 20.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of HRL opened at $30.42 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 2.29. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.42, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $31.33 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.99.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.95 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.40 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.58%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on HRL. Citigroup upgraded Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Finally, BNP Paribas began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued 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 issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.57.

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.