Photo:Flickr.com/Rochelle Hartman
About Hormel Foods
Minnesota-based Hormel Foods has paid dividends since 1928 and has been growing them since 1967.
Photo courtesy theimpulsivebuy via flickr.com
In 1891, George Hormel founded Geo. A. Hormel & Co. in Austin, MN to sell fresh pork products across Minnesota. In the early 1900s, the company grew outside of Minnesota, expanding with offices in Illinois, Texas and Georgia and a new manufacturing plant in California. In 1928, Geo. A. Hormel went public and immediately began paying dividends, a record which has continued to this day. Hormel continued to expand and brought to market new products, including the ubiquitous Spam in 1937. The company officially changed its name to Hormel Foods in 1993. Hormel’s brands comprise a wide variety of food products including Skippy®, Dinty Moore®, Chi-Chi’s®, and Wholly Guacamole®.
The company is a member of the S&P 500 index and trades under the ticker symbol HRL.
Hormel Foods’ Dividend and Stock Split History
Hormel has been a Dividend Aristocrat since 1991 and in 2016 increased its dividend for the 50th consecutive year. Also, Hormel has paid out quarterly dividends continuously since 1928. The company usually announces annual dividend increases in November, with the stock going ex-dividend the following January.
Hormel Foods has compounded its payout at an average rate of 17.8% over the last 5 years and 16.3% over the last 10 years.
Hormel Foods became a public company in 1928. Since then, the company has split its stock 2-for-1 10 times, most recently in January 2016. Before 2011, 2 for 1 stock splits occurred in January 1960, February 1968, November 1971, January 1980, August 1985, April 1987, January 1990, January 2000, and February 2011. Hormel also paid out 10% stock dividend twice early in its history as a public company, in January 1949 and January 1957.
Hormel Foods’ Direct Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plans
Hormel has both direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans. However, interested investors must already be owners of Hormel stock. Investors who do not currently own stock can purchase at least one share through their broker and submit the share certificate to Wells Fargo Shareholder Services, which is Hormel’s transfer agent for the plans.
Participants are able to purchase additional shares directly through the plans and reinvest all dividends to purchase additional shares of Hormel stock. Partial reinvestment of dividends is not permitted. The minimum investment amount for direct purchases is $25.
Hormel pays all fees associated with purchases whether through a direct cash investment or through the reinvestment of dividends. When selling shares, investors will pay a sales fee of between $15 and $30, depending on how an investor requests the sale be executed (batch order, market order, limit order, or stop order), plus a 12 cent per share trading commission. Other fees may apply, so review the Plan Brochure at the Wells Fargo Shareholder Services website.
Helpful Links
Hormel Foods Investor Relations Website
Current quote and financial summary for Hormel Foods (finviz.com)
Information on the direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans for Hormel Foods