Hendershot Investments Inc. Sells 11,191 Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Hendershot Investments Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 22.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 39,643 shares of the company’s stock after selling 11,191 shares during the quarter. Hendershot Investments Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $1,244,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in Hormel Foods by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Greenleaf Trust now owns 8,029 shares of the company’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 9,649 shares of the company’s stock worth $306,000 after buying an additional 342 shares during the last quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. CFS Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 13,445 shares of the company’s stock valued at $422,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. New Century Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 6.2% during the fourth quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC now owns 6,738 shares of the company’s stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 392 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Hormel Foods by 4.8% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 9,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $289,000 after acquiring an additional 416 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken purchased 4,904 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.72% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HRL. BNP Paribas began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price on the stock. Barclays upgraded Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.17.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Hormel Foods stock opened at $29.23 on Friday. Hormel Foods Co. has a twelve month low of $28.51 and a twelve month high of $36.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 2.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.02, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.26. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $31.17 and its 200 day moving average is $31.39.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. The company’s revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.42 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.97%. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is 79.45%.

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.