Shelton Capital Management Cuts Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Shelton Capital Management lowered its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 15.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,767 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,600 shares during the period. Shelton Capital Management’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 10.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 13,823 shares of the company’s stock worth $712,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its position in Hormel Foods by 4.0% in the first quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 37,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 1,468 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 37,751 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,946,000 after purchasing an additional 2,339 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 8,977 shares of the company’s stock valued at $463,000 after purchasing an additional 611 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.4% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,030,288 shares of the company’s stock worth $104,640,000 after purchasing an additional 8,636 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 41.15% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on HRL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $31.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 16th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $29.00 and set a “sell” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 13th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Hormel Foods from $41.00 to $35.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 13th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $40.00.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 5,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total transaction of $160,836.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,937 shares in the company, valued at $1,204,321.41. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Pierre M. Lilly bought 1,454 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 6th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $37.25 per share, for a total transaction of $54,161.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,454 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,161.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 5,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $30.93, for a total value of $160,836.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 38,937 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,204,321.41. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.81% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.0 %

HRL opened at $32.19 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $34.74 and a 200 day moving average of $38.05. The company has a current ratio of 1.40, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.31. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $30.70 and a 12 month high of $49.73. The company has a market cap of $17.59 billion, a PE ratio of 19.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 0.28.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 31st. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.41 by ($0.01). Hormel Foods had a net margin of 7.20% and a return on equity of 12.20%. The company had revenue of $2.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.64 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, January 16th will be issued a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.51%. This is an increase from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.32%.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company operates through four segments: Grocery Products, Refrigerated Foods, Jennie-O Turkey Store, and International & Other.