Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Holdings Lifted by D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 24.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,883,924 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 368,028 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $59,099,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth approximately $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 690 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 91.8% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth $48,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on HRL. Barclays raised Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Bank of America raised shares of Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Finally, Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $29.23 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $29.88 and its 200-day moving average is $30.35. 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 $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. Hormel Foods Co. has a fifty-two week low of $27.59 and a fifty-two week high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.97%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 84.67%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total transaction of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This trade represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

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.