Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL Stock Sold by Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY

Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY trimmed its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 5.8% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 1,659,423 shares of the company’s stock after selling 101,743 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $33,089,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the second quarter worth $5,554,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at $2,050,000. Masters Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at about $19,252,000. Core Capital Management & Research inc. bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at about $7,729,000. Finally, Fidelity National Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at about $16,381,000. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on HRL shares. BNP Paribas Exane reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target (down from $26.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $26.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. Bank of America raised 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. Barclays reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $28.00 target price (down from $30.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Wednesday, October 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Friday, August 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $25.43.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, Chairman William A. Newlands purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 5th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $20.10 per share, for a total transaction of $201,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chairman directly owned 76,375 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,535,137.50. The trade was a 15.07% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.58% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 0.7%

NYSE:HRL opened at $20.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a P/E/G ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a current ratio of 1.88. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $21.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $22.91. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52-week low of $18.96 and a 52-week high of $26.60.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.03 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.91% and a net margin of 2.82%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.48 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 16th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 5.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, October 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 185.71%.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE: HRL) is a global food company headquartered in Austin, Minnesota. Founded in 1891 by George A. Hormel, the company began as a meat-processing business and has expanded into a broad portfolio of branded food products sold through retail, foodservice and international channels.

Its products include refrigerated and shelf-stable meats, meals, snacks and other prepared foods. Hormel Foods markets products under well-known brands such as Hormel, SPAM, Jennie-O, Applegate, Columbus, Skippy and Planters, although its brand portfolio and business operations may evolve over time.