Grandfield & Dodd LLC Boosts Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Grandfield & Dodd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 20.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 762,791 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 128,349 shares during the quarter. Hormel Foods accounts for approximately 1.7% of Grandfield & Dodd LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding. Grandfield & Dodd LLC owned approximately 0.14% of Hormel Foods worth $24,493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 7,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,000 after buying an additional 231 shares in the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 20,805 shares of the company’s stock valued at $948,000 after buying an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 8,051 shares of the company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 253 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 41,002 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,649,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,258 shares of the company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, February 1st. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $31.00 to $33.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 12th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Hormel Foods has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total transaction of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:HRL traded up $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $34.74. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,359,723 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,454,704. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $41.73. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $33.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.47. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $19.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.27.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The business had revenue of $3 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.40 EPS. Hormel Foods’s revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.40%.

About Hormel Foods

Hormel Foods Corporation develops, processes, and distributes various meat, nuts, and other food products to retail, foodservice, deli, and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. It operates through three segments: Retail, Foodservice, and International segments. The company provides various perishable products that include fresh meats, frozen items, refrigerated meal solutions, sausages, hams, guacamoles, and bacons; and shelf-stable products comprising canned luncheon meats, nut butters, snack nuts, chili, shelf-stable microwaveable meals, hash, stews, tortillas, salsas, tortilla chips, nutritional food supplements, and others.