Rafferty Asset Management LLC Has $791,000 Stock Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 12.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,228 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,798 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Crews Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairway Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 86.9% in the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,484 shares of the company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 690 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 91.8% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,523 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 729 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth about $48,000. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 95,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.72% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on HRL. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $31.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $29.00 to $35.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.33.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

NYSE:HRL opened at $29.41 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $27.59 and a 12-month high of $36.06. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.29.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.94%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Hormel Foods Company Profile

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.