Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Receives Average Rating of “Reduce” from Analysts

Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) have received an average rating of “Reduce” from the seven brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have assigned a hold recommendation and one has issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $31.29.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HRL. BNP Paribas initiated coverage on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 price target for the company. Citigroup decreased 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. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In related news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $32.47 per share, with a total value of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $230,537. This trade represents a 223.32 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.69% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Hormel Foods

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the third quarter worth about $32,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Hormel Foods in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 1,132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

Hormel Foods Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of HRL stock opened at $31.68 on Monday. Hormel Foods has a 1 year low of $28.51 and a 1 year high of $36.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.26. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $31.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $31.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 2.32.

Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a net margin of 6.75% and a return on equity of 10.95%. Hormel Foods’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.42 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Investors of record on Monday, January 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.66%. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.45%.

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.