WCM Investment Management LLC Takes $226,000 Position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

WCM Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 7,140 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 21.8% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 571,252 shares of the company’s stock valued at $19,931,000 after acquiring an additional 102,141 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 26.2% during the second quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 735,246 shares of the company’s stock worth $22,418,000 after purchasing an additional 152,800 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the first quarter worth about $756,000. Appian Way Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods in the second quarter valued at about $11,811,000. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 110.8% during the 2nd quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 37,228 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after buying an additional 19,571 shares during the period. 40.99% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.91, for a total value of $312,718.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 30,589 shares in the company, valued at $976,094.99. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at $2,313,850.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on HRL shares. Stephens began coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup raised shares of Hormel Foods from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $33.00 to $37.00 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, BNP Paribas assumed coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research report on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $31.57.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE HRL opened at $30.39 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $31.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $32.04. The company has a market capitalization of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $36.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a current ratio of 2.29 and a quick ratio of 1.03.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 11.03% and a net margin of 6.52%. The business had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.40 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Cuts Dividend

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

About Hormel Foods

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.