Insider Selling: Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Director Sells $495,102.00 in Stock

Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) Director Gary Bhojwani sold 20,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $24.51, for a total transaction of $495,102.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 32,002 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $784,369.02. This represents a 38.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL stock opened at $24.73 on Monday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 12 month low of $19.70 and a 12 month high of $31.54. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $23.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $23.24. The firm has a market cap of $13.61 billion, a PE ratio of 29.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 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.

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. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 3.82% and a return on equity of 9.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.97 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.96 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 17th. Investors of record on Monday, July 13th will be given 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 4.7%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 137.65%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on HRL shares. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $23.00 target price (down from $28.00) on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d+)” rating on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $25.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America lifted 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 research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Hormel Foods has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $26.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 9.1% during the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 2,042,541 shares of the company’s stock worth $48,408,000 after buying an additional 171,137 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 38,341.8% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 124,167 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,007,000 after buying an additional 123,844 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Hormel Foods by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 5,156,596 shares of the company’s stock valued at $127,570,000 after acquiring an additional 590,084 shares during the period. Fidelity National Financial Inc. bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $15,642,000. Finally, BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its position in Hormel Foods by 21.2% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 465,204 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,025,000 after acquiring an additional 81,420 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.