Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Takes Position in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,974,985 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $44,733,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 66.5% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,352,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526,167 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,840,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $43,340,000. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,174,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770,852 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 189.7% in the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,414,341 shares of the company’s stock worth $57,220,000 after purchasing an additional 1,581,046 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HRL. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, July 17th. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.14.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,002 shares in the company, valued at $784,369.02. This represents a 38.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.1%

HRL opened at $25.30 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.93 billion, a PE ratio of 29.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 0.97. Hormel Foods Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $19.70 and a fifty-two week high of $29.34. The business has a 50-day moving average of $24.01 and a 200-day moving average of $23.33.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.96 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 137.65%.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation is a global branded foods company primarily engaged in the production, marketing and distribution of value-added, high-quality meat and food products. The company’s portfolio spans a range of categories including refrigerated and frozen meats, pantry staples, specialty foods and shelf-stable items. Through manufacturing facilities located across North America and international markets, Hormel Foods supplies retail grocers, foodservice operators, convenience stores and e-commerce platforms.

Among its best-known brands, Hormel Foods produces SPAM® canned meats, Jennie-O® turkey products, Skippy® peanut butter and Applegate® natural and organic meats.