Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) Receives $31.29 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Hormel Foods Co. (NYSE:HRL) have earned an average rating of “Reduce” from the six research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $31.00.

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on HRL shares. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Hormel Foods from $36.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Stephens started coverage on Hormel Foods in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $31.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BNP Paribas started coverage on Hormel Foods in a research note on Monday, October 21st. They set an “underperform” rating and a $28.00 target price for the company.

Hormel Foods Stock Performance

Shares of HRL opened at $30.01 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $31.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $31.49. The firm has a market cap of $16.48 billion, a PE ratio of 20.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.12 and a beta of 0.26. Hormel Foods has a 12-month low of $28.51 and a 12-month high of $36.86. 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 (NYSE:HRL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, December 4th. The company reported $0.42 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.43 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $3.14 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.14 billion. Hormel Foods had a return on equity of 10.95% and a net margin of 6.75%. Hormel Foods’s quarterly revenue was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.42 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Hormel Foods will post 1.65 EPS for the current year.

Hormel Foods Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders 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 3.87%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 13th. This is a boost from Hormel Foods’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. Hormel Foods’s dividend payout ratio is 79.45%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Hormel Foods

In other Hormel Foods news, VP Steven J. Lykken bought 4,904 shares of Hormel Foods stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $32.47 per share, for a total transaction of $159,232.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,100 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $230,537. This represents a 223.32 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.72% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of HRL. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods in the third quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Prospera Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hormel Foods in the 3rd quarter valued at $39,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Hormel Foods by 516.9% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,351 shares of the company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 1,132 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Hormel Foods during the 2nd quarter worth $42,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in Hormel Foods during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 40.99% of the company’s stock.

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.