Royal Bank of Canada Purchases 82,028 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation $HRL

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 37.5% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 300,674 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 82,028 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $6,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 66.5% in the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 11,331,941 shares of the company’s stock valued at $280,352,000 after acquiring an additional 4,526,167 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $85,840,000. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter valued at $44,733,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter valued at $43,340,000. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its position in Hormel Foods by 126.2% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 3,174,553 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,538,000 after purchasing an additional 1,770,852 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 1.7%

Shares of HRL opened at $24.29 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $24.86 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $23.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.58, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.34. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 52 week low of $19.70 and a 52 week high of $29.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.97 and a current ratio of 1.94.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 27th. The company reported $0.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.35 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 9.74% and a net margin of 3.82%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 13th will be paid a $0.2925 dividend. This represents a $1.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 137.65%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gary C. Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 32,002 shares in the company, valued at $784,369.02. The trade was a 38.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane boosted their price objective on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $27.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $25.00 to $27.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $26.14.

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.