Citigroup Inc. Purchases 73,831 Shares of Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL)

Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Hormel Foods Corporation (NYSE:HRL) by 19.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 457,826 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 73,831 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $14,165,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. MJT & Associates Financial Advisory Group Inc. bought a new position in Hormel Foods in the first quarter valued at $37,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods during the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Riverview Trust Co boosted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 183.8% during the 1st quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 1,572 shares of the company’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 1,018 shares during the last quarter. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan bought a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, YANKCOM Partnership increased its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 18.5% in the first quarter. YANKCOM Partnership now owns 3,081 shares of the company’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. 40.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Hormel Foods Stock Down 2.2%

HRL stock opened at $28.34 on Friday. Hormel Foods Corporation has a 1-year low of $27.59 and a 1-year high of $33.80. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $29.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $29.74. The company has a current ratio of 2.47, a quick ratio of 1.17 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a PE ratio of 20.84, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.31.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 29th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.35. The firm had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.27% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.38 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Hormel Foods Corporation will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 14th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 14th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 85.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently issued reports on HRL. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Monday, June 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $35.00 target price on the stock. Stephens reiterated an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Hormel Foods from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $30.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $32.86.

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.