Sovereign Financial Group Inc. Has $599,000 Stake in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)

Sovereign Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,645 shares of the company’s stock after purchasing an additional 610 shares during the quarter. Sovereign Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Hormel Foods were worth $599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in HRL. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 100.5% in the fourth quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,061 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 1,033 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 21.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,069 shares of the company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 361 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 516.5% in the fourth quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 2,546 shares of the company’s stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 2,133 shares in the last quarter. RIA Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the fourth quarter valued at about $86,000. Finally, Covestor Ltd raised its stake in Hormel Foods by 23.7% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,927 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 561 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of HRL traded up $0.51 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $35.31. The stock had a trading volume of 1,568,088 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,001,245. Hormel Foods Co. has a 12 month low of $28.51 and a 12 month high of $41.73. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $34.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $32.51. 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 company has a market capitalization of $19.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.28.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The company reported $0.41 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34 by $0.07. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 11.51% and a net margin of 6.55%. The company had revenue of $3 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was up .9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods Co. will post 1.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 25th will be given a $0.2825 dividend. This represents a $1.13 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 12th. Hormel Foods’s payout ratio is currently 77.40%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Mark A. Coffey sold 15,400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $34.18, for a total value of $526,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 68,029 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,325,231.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Kevin L. Myers sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $34.95, for a total value of $349,500.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 38,708 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,352,844.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, 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 approximately $2,325,231.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,800 shares of company stock valued at $1,414,872. 0.69% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.