Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Boosts Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 4.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 53,269 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 2,510 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,671,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Hormel Foods by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,810,000 after acquiring an additional 1,175,087 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 56.0% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 2,237,674 shares of the company’s stock valued at $70,934,000 after purchasing an additional 802,816 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,068,102 shares of the company’s stock worth $794,659,000 after purchasing an additional 617,308 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 4th quarter worth approximately $16,612,000. Finally, Vest Financial LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 17.0% in the 4th quarter. Vest Financial LLC now owns 1,825,660 shares of the company’s stock valued at $57,271,000 after buying an additional 264,813 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:HRL opened at $29.53 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $29.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $30.86. Hormel Foods Co. has a 52 week low of $27.59 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The company has a market cap of $16.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HRL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Stephens reissued an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price target on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.80.

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.