Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Short Interest Up 31.2% in November

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 9,330,000 shares, a growth of 31.2% from the October 31st total of 7,110,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 2,350,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.0 days. Approximately 3.2% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on HRL shares. 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 price objective for the company. Stephens assumed coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target 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, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Steven J. Lykken sold 9,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the vice president now owns 30,589 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $976,094.99. The trade was a 24.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Deanna T. Brady sold 51,600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.95, for a total value of $1,648,620.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 72,421 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,313,850.95. The trade was a 41.61 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 71,400 shares of company stock valued at $2,288,338 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.69% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in HRL. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 688.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 741 shares of the company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 647 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Central Valley Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Prospera Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 1.6 %

HRL opened at $32.43 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.78 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day moving average of $31.01 and a 200-day moving average of $31.58. Hormel Foods has a 52 week low of $28.51 and a 52 week high of $36.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 2.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, September 4th. The company reported $0.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.01. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.52% and a return on equity of 11.03%. The company had revenue of $2.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.95 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.40 EPS. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 2.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, January 13th. This is a positive change from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.69%.

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.