Fifth Third Bancorp Acquires 49,678 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 32.6% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 202,223 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 49,678 shares during the quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $4,580,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 1.0% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 28,338,645 shares of the company’s stock worth $701,098,000 after purchasing an additional 269,941 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,352,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526,167 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Hormel Foods by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,080,832 shares of the company’s stock worth $190,805,000 after acquiring an additional 63,583 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 30.2% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,714,191 shares of the company’s stock worth $159,139,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557,595 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 6,618,755 shares of the company’s stock worth $156,864,000 after acquiring an additional 849,357 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on HRL. Bank of America lifted their price target on Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. BNP Paribas Exane raised their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 target price on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $23.00 price target (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, April 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $26.14.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total value of $495,102.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 32,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $784,369.02. This represents a 38.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

NYSE HRL opened at $25.40 on Friday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.70 and a 52 week high of $29.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.88, a PEG ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 1.94 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $23.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $23.28.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.96 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.2925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.6%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 137.65%.

About Hormel Foods

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.