Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. Lowers Stock Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. cut its position in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 47.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,311 shares of the company’s stock after selling 24,733 shares during the quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $866,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% in the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $37,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 1st quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 774.8% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 1,216 shares of the company’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 1,077 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

HRL traded down $0.03 on Friday, hitting $31.06. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,173,836 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,072,360. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The firm has a market cap of $17.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.39.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.40 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a $0.282 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 79.58%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on HRL shares. Citigroup raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.57.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total transaction of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338. Corporate insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

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.