WCM Investment Management LLC Acquires New Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

WCM Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 7,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted 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 bought a new position in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $37,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

HRL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. 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 note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Stephens started coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price for the company. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.57.

Hormel Foods Price Performance

HRL stock opened at $30.39 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $31.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $32.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 2.29, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Hormel Foods Co. has a one year low of $28.51 and a one year high of $36.86.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.40 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 15th will be given a dividend of $0.282 per share. This represents a $1.13 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.71%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 15th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 79.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total transaction of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety 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 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.