Hormel Foods (NYSE:HRL) Trading Up 2.7% – What’s Next?

Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL)’s stock price shot up 2.7% on Monday . The company traded as high as $31.06 and last traded at $31.19. 289,321 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 89% from the average session volume of 2,528,685 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.36.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on HRL. Barclays upgraded shares of Hormel Foods from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stephens reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $31.00 price objective on shares of Hormel Foods in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.80.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $16.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.21. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $29.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $30.65. The company has a current ratio of 2.32, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Hormel Foods Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 14th will be given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 14th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is currently 84.67%.

Insider Activity at Hormel Foods

In related news, Director Elsa A. Murano sold 4,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $30.40, for a total value of $136,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 95,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,902,835.20. This represents a 4.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.72% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Hormel Foods during the fourth quarter valued at $102,598,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 496.3% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 2,185,600 shares of the company’s stock valued at $68,562,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819,100 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Hormel Foods by 466.5% during the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 2,053,160 shares of the company’s stock valued at $64,408,000 after purchasing an additional 1,690,746 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in shares of Hormel Foods by 67.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,926,668 shares of the company’s stock worth $91,810,000 after purchasing an additional 1,175,087 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in Hormel Foods by 33.9% during the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 4,374,456 shares of the company’s stock valued at $137,227,000 after buying an additional 1,107,270 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.