Aberdeen Group plc Trims Holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Aberdeen Group plc lowered its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 26.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 218,936 shares of the company’s stock after selling 77,569 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $5,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 130.0% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 91,706 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,269,000 after purchasing an additional 51,827 shares during the last quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S. purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter worth approximately $820,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 48.3% during the second quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 40,492 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,218,000 after purchasing an additional 13,188 shares during the period. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 107.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 456,666 shares of the company’s stock valued at $11,298,000 after buying an additional 236,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Hormel Foods by 67.4% in the 2nd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 296,782 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,978,000 after buying an additional 119,460 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on HRL. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 5th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $26.00 price objective (up previously from $25.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, December 5th. Stephens cut their target price on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $25.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Finally, Barclays set a $30.00 price target on Hormel Foods and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $27.43.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of HRL opened at $25.01 on Friday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a twelve month low of $21.03 and a twelve month high of $32.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.74, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.33. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $24.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $24.45.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, December 3rd. The company reported $0.32 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.30 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $3.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.24 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.41% and a net margin of 3.95%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 1.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 17th. Investors of record on Monday, January 12th were paid a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, January 12th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 134.48%.

Hormel Foods 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.