Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Buys New Holdings in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,987 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at $41,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Hormel Foods by 62.9% in the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,028 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 397 shares during the period. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 24.4% in the first quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 1,527 shares of the company’s stock valued at $79,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP grew its position in Hormel Foods by 387.0% in the first quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 1,841 shares of the company’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 1,463 shares during the period. Finally, Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. grew its position in Hormel Foods by 61.5% in the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 2,062 shares of the company’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE:HRL opened at $34.75 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a 1-year low of $28.51 and a 1-year high of $41.73. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $33.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.47. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $19.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.80, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.27.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results 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. 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 analyst estimates of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a dividend of $0.2825 per share. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 77.40%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total transaction of $526,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the transaction, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872 over the last 90 days. 0.69% of the stock is 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.