Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Acquires 202,125 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 1,155.2% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 219,622 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 202,125 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $4,974,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Caxton Associates LLP bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $310,000. Empowered Funds LLC raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 57,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,779,000 after acquiring an additional 993 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 40.8% during the first quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 24,583 shares of the company’s stock worth $761,000 after purchasing an additional 7,129 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 214.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,731 shares of the company’s stock valued at $143,000 after purchasing an additional 3,226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cerity Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 76.5% during the second quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 103,616 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 44,906 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of a number of research reports. Stephens raised their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $22.00 to $25.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 29th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, April 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on Hormel Foods from $23.00 to $25.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, May 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price target on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $25.67.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $26.29 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.35. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $22.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $23.19. 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 $31.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.05. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The firm 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 company earned $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be given a dividend of $0.2925 per share. This represents a $1.17 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 137.65%.

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.