Kestra Advisory Services LLC Purchases 20,959 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Kestra Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 100.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 41,818 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 20,959 shares during the quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owned 32,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,369.02. This trade represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.58% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on HRL. Bank of America lifted their price target on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. 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 report on Thursday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 target price on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.14.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL opened at $25.02 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $23.90 and a 200 day moving average of $23.31. The stock has a market cap of $13.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52-week low of $19.70 and a 52-week high of $29.63.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 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.