Hsbc Holdings PLC Acquires 26,962 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 4.0% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 699,941 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,962 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $21,907,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Hormel Foods by 33.9% during the fourth quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company’s stock worth $137,227,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107,270 shares during the period. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 76,908 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,413,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 20.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 3,751,307 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,674,000 after buying an additional 634,630 shares during the last quarter. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.7% in the fourth quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 13,260 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 5,353 shares during the period. Finally, CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co grew its position in Hormel Foods by 19.3% during the fourth quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co now owns 253,163 shares of the company’s stock worth $7,938,000 after buying an additional 41,041 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Hormel Foods news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares in the company, valued at $2,902,835.20. The trade was a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Trading Down 1.7 %

Shares of HRL opened at $29.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market cap of $16.32 billion, a PE ratio of 20.33, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.31. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1 year low of $27.59 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $29.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.47.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.91%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is presently 84.67%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.