Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Stake Decreased by White Pine Capital LLC

White Pine Capital LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 16.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,599 shares of the company’s stock after selling 6,732 shares during the period. White Pine Capital LLC’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,111,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 100.5% during the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 1,033 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 361 shares during the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.5% during the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 2,133 shares during the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 23.7% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after buying an additional 561 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of HRL traded up $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $35.32. 2,088,175 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,357,894. The company has a market cap of $19.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.79, a current ratio of 1.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $41.73. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $33.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $32.41.

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

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be issued a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares in the company, valued at $1,352,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Hormel Foods news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.00, for a total transaction of $539,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares in the company, valued at $2,381,015. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,352,844.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 40,800 shares of company stock worth $1,414,872. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Hormel Foods 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.