Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 16.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 903,603 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 125,678 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned 0.17% of Hormel Foods worth $29,015,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter worth about $62,323,000. Vest Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 54.4% in the fourth quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 868,251 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,880,000 after buying an additional 305,866 shares in the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $8,595,000. Trexquant Investment LP lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 195.1% in the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 304,600 shares of the company’s stock worth $11,584,000 after buying an additional 201,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.0% in the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,059,847 shares of the company’s stock worth $116,366,000 after buying an additional 172,110 shares in the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE HRL traded up $0.36 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.11. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,474,877 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,027,598. The company has a current ratio of 1.49, a quick ratio of 0.79 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50 day moving average is $35.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $32.83. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $41.73. The firm has a market cap of $19.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.28.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The firm had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.91 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 15th will be issued a $0.2825 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, July 12th. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 77.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Hormel Foods from $27.00 to $28.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on Hormel Foods from $33.00 to $35.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Hormel Foods from $26.00 to $28.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, February 1st. They set a “neutral” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.00.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

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

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.