AM Investment Strategies LLC Increases Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

AM Investment Strategies LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 6.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 107,151 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,063 shares during the quarter. Hormel Foods comprises about 1.0% of AM Investment Strategies LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest holding. AM Investment Strategies LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $3,441,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 6,014,570 shares of the company’s stock worth $228,734,000 after buying an additional 165,563 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its position in Hormel Foods by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,059,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,366,000 after buying an additional 172,110 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in Hormel Foods by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 2,510,004 shares of the company’s stock worth $95,455,000 after buying an additional 167,920 shares during the last quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in Hormel Foods by 28.0% during the 3rd quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 1,959,077 shares of the company’s stock worth $74,504,000 after buying an additional 428,100 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in Hormel Foods by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,775,780 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,020,000 after buying an additional 81,970 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Hormel Foods news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872. 0.69% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Hormel Foods stock traded down $0.33 during trading on Thursday, reaching $35.27. The company had a trading volume of 1,743,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,089,244. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $33.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $32.41. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $41.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a current ratio of 1.49.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.55% and a return on equity of 11.51%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.40 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be paid a $0.2825 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on HRL. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.00.

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.