First Nebraska Trust Co Invests $13.71 Million in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

First Nebraska Trust Co acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 552,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,705,000. Hormel Foods comprises about 1.1% of First Nebraska Trust Co’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. First Nebraska Trust Co owned approximately 0.10% of Hormel Foods as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in HRL. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth $489,092,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,352,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526,167 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,840,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $44,733,000. Finally, Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $43,340,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price objective on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 14th. Weiss Ratings raised Hormel Foods from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “hold (c-)” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 12th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $26.57.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE HRL opened at $23.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 1.94 and a quick ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market cap of $13.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $24.91 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.45. Hormel Foods Corporation has a one year low of $19.70 and a one year high of $29.34.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. The company 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 company’s revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

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.