V Square Quantitative Management LLC Sells 612 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC trimmed its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,253 shares of the company’s stock after selling 612 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth approximately $39,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth approximately $47,000. Finally, McIlrath & Eck LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 638 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $28.47 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $15.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.50, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.27 and a one year high of $36.86. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $30.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $31.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.32 and a quick ratio of 1.19.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.08%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the acquisition, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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.